Former Los Angeles Dodgers coach Tommy Lasorda has died at the age of 93, the team announced.
On Thursday evening, he suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at home and was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Lasorda led the Dodgers from 1976 to 1996, winning two World Series titles, four National League pennants and eight division crowns. He was named National Manager of the Year twice in the National League and won 1,599 career games.
Lasorda was born on September 22, 1927, and grew up in the working-class town of Norristown, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. In 1945, at the age of 18, the left pitcher took his big break signing with the local Phillies organization.
“I didn’t have much ability, but I guarantee you one thing, when I was on that hill of emotions, I didn’t think there was a man alive who could hit me,” Lasorda said. in 1997. “And if they hit me, what did they do, I thought it was an accident.” Lasorda’s baseball career was interrupted in 1946 and 1947 due to military service with the United States Army. Lasorda returned in 1948 and did not miss a beat; on May 31 of that year, he broke out 25 times in Schenectady’s 15-game victory over Amsterdam and was the only player in the decisive race. After that season, Lasorda was selected by the Brooklyn Dodgers in the minor league draft, starting a long-term relationship with the franchise.
Lasorda reached the majors with the Dodgers in 1954 and 1955. He also played for Kansas City Athletics in 1956, but never played in the major leagues after that season. He retired from pitching in 1960.
With the player’s career over, Lasorda stayed with the Dodgers. He was a scout for the team until he became coach in the minor leagues from 1965 to 1972. Seventy-five players that Lasorda coached in the minor leagues continued to play in the major leagues.
In 1973, Lasorda was the third head coach for the Dodgers under the Walter Alston Hall of Fame. When Alston retired in 1976, Lasorda was named his replacement.
Lasorda quickly found success in Los Angeles. In 1977 and 1978, he led the Dodgers to the National League title, but lost to the Yankees in the World Series in both seasons. In 1981, Lasorda finally won his first World Series title, when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in 6 games. The Dodgers also won the 1988 World Series with Lasorda.
After 20 seasons, Lasorda retired as Dodgers manager in 1996 due to health issues. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997 by the veterans’ committee, but Lasorda remained active in the sport. He played various roles with the Dodgers and was the manager of the American team that won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in favor of the favored Cuba. Lasorda was also the official ambassador for the 2006 and 2009 world baseball rankings.
Lasorda was also a distant relative of Hall of Fame recipient Mike Piazza, and was the godfather of Piazza’s brother, Tommy. Lasorda played a key role in influencing the Dodgers to select Piazza in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft. Piazza became a 12-time All-Star, averaging 308 in his career, one of the nine Rookies of the Year for the National League that played for the Dodgers under Lasorda. Piazza finished with 427 home runs, including a record 396 as a receiver.
In 2009, Lasorda’s portrait was hung in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. Lasorda’s No. 2 was withdrawn by the Dodgers in 1997, and the main street leading to the entrance to the Dodgers complex in Vero Beach, Florida, was renamed Tommy Lasorda Lane that year.
“In 50 years, we will still know Tommy Lasorda as a great baseball ambassador,” said former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser, who has spent 14 of his 18 seasons playing for Lasorda. “And I think this will be the first thing on his resume.”