Former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has died at the age of 93, the team said.
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 was hospitalized on November 8 with heart problems and did not return home until Tuesday.
He led the Dodgers from 1976 to 1996, winning two World Series titles, four National League pennants and eight division crowns. He was twice named manager of the year in the NL and won 1,599 games in his career.
– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 8, 2021
Lasorda was born on September 22, 1927, and grew up in the blue-collar city of Norristown, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. In 1945, at the age of 18, the pitcher on the left took a long break by signing with the Phillies in his hometown.
“I didn’t have much ability, but I guarantee you one thing, when I stood on that thrilling hill, I didn’t think there was a man alive who could hit me,” Lasorda said in 1997. “And if they hit me, what they did, I thought was an accident. “
Lasorda’s baseball career was interrupted in 1946 and 1947 due to military service with the US military. 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 in 1954 and played 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 a minor league manager from 1965 to 1972. Seventy-five players that Lasorda managed in the minors continued to play in the major leagues.
In 1973, Lasorda was the third head coach for the Dodgers under Hall of Fame, Walter Alston. 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 flagship, but lost to the Yankees in the World Series in both seasons. In 1981, Lasorda finally won his first World Series title, while the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in six games. The Dodgers also won the 1988 World Series under Lasorda. He participated in the team’s Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in October, which sealed the Dodgers’ first World Series championship in Lasorda since 1988.
After 20 seasons, Lasorda retired as Dodgers manager in 1996 due to health reasons. 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 of the World Baseball Rankings in 2006 and 2009.
“His passion, success, charisma and sense of humor have made him an international celebrity, a stature he has used to develop our sport,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on Friday. “Tommy welcomed Dodger players from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere – making baseball a stronger, more diverse and better game.”
Hall of Fame speaker Vin Scully, who has been the voice of the Dodgers for 67 years, fondly remembered Lasorda’s energy and effort.
“There are two things about Tommy that I will always remember,” Scully said in a statement. “The first is his boundless enthusiasm. Tommy got up in the morning full of beans and held him as long as he was with anyone else.
“The other was his decision. He was a guy with limited skills and pushed himself to be a very good pitcher at Triple-A. He never quite had that extra something that makes a major leaguer, but not because he doesn’t try. These are some of the things: his competitive spirit, his determination and, above all, this boundless energy and self-confidence. His heart was bigger than his talent and there were no wrong lines for his enthusiasm. “
A distant relative of Hall of Fame captor Mike Piazza, and 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 went on to become All -Star 12 times with an average of 308 in his career, one of the nine Nook Rookies of the Year who will play for the Dodgers under Lasorda. Piazza finished with 427 home runs, including a record 396 as a catcher.
In 2009, Lasorda drew her portrait 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 fifty years, we will continue to 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 that will be the first thing on his resume.”