Tommy Lasorda, who claimed “bleeding blue Dodger” from the moment he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1949 and decades later became the colorful and highly successful transplanted Los Angeles Dodgers, who won two World Series titles, he died Thursday night.
Lasorda was 93 years old. The Dodgers announced that Lasorda suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at his home and was rushed to the hospital. He was pronounced dead at 10:57 p.m.
“Words can’t express my feelings,” he tweeted to former Mets manager Bobby Valentine. “A friend and mentor for 52 years is no longer with us. Tommy, no one will ever fill the void you left behind. Thanks for everything. REST IN PEACE”
Lasorda had just been released from hospital on Tuesday after being admitted in mid-November for undisclosed reasons.
In October, he was at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, in his role as special advisor to team president Mark Walter, to see how the Dodgers beat the Rays and win their first world championship. from his 1988 team, highlighted by Kirk Gibson’s play. winning the escape at home to Dennis Eckersley, he achieved the feat.
In 20 seasons as a coach (1977-96), Lasorda led the Dodgers to two world championships (1981, 1988), four National League pennants and eight division titles.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 in his first year of eligibility and, at the time of his death, was the oldest living member of the Hall.
Not bad for a left-handed pitcher who appeared in just 26 major league games during three-season games with the Dodgers and Kansas City athletes. Lasorda, who originally signed with his hometown Phillies, made three relief appearances for the Dodgers in 1954, and was sent to the minors when the Dodgers kept an 18-year-old left-hander named Sandy Koufax.
“When [general manager] Buzzie [Bavasi] he told me he would come down, I told him he was crazy, “Lasorda told MLB.com in 2005.” That guy couldn’t knock on a barn door from 50 feet and I won 20 games [in the minors]. So I can truly say that he needed the greatest leftist in the history of the game to replace me.
“I still think they made a mistake.”
Lasorda began his lone game in Brooklyn the following season. He was eliminated after the first inning after throwing three wild throws and being punctured in a home play when Wally Moon of St. Louis was sent off. Louis scored on that third wild throw. Lasorda was sent to the minors, where he had a long career soon after and no longer returned to the Dodgers.
After his career as a player, which also included a stop with the Yankees Triple-A team in Denver, where he was under the influence of Bears coach Ralph Houk, Lasorda became an explorer for the Dodgers and He then advanced to the minor leagues and was named Dodgers’ third baseman coach in 1973.
After the 1976 season, Lasorda replaced the famous Walter Alston as Dodgers manager and quickly began cutting his own path to Cooperstown, earning pennants in his first two seasons when his teams fell to the Yankees in the United States. World Series. During his tenure, he guided nine players to the Nook Rookie of the Year awards, including Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax and Mike Piazza.
He also befriended presidents and several Hollywood stars, including Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Milton Berle, and Robert Wagner.
“I tell you, only in this great nation of ours could the third-string pitcher from the Norristown, Pennsylvania high school team, the son of an Italian immigrant, be friends with some of the best artists in the world,” he said. Sports Illustrated in 1984.
“I’m the only baseball general manager,” former Dodgers general manager Al Campanis once said, “who, when he wants to reach out to his manager, has to call the White House oval office at the Caesars Las Vegas Palace or Lasorda Restaurant in Exton, Pennsylvania. “
Among photos, Lasorda reached 3,038 major league games, winning 1,599. Although she was known for her salty language at the stadium, her wife, Jo, claimed that neither she nor her children had ever felt that face of her husband. Lasorda’s faded diatribe when a reporter asked him what he thought of Dave Kingman after the Cubs slugger hit three homers and drove in eight runs in a 1978 Dodgers loss remains a classic.
“What is my opinion on Kingman’s performance?” Lasorda said. “What [expletive] do you think my opinion is of this? Think so [expletive]. Put it inside. I don’t [expletive] care. What do I think of his performance? [Expletive.] He beat us with three [expletive] homemade.
“What [expletive] you mean, what is my opinion on his performance? How can you ask me such a question? I am [expletive] out to lose one [expletive] game, and ask me my opinion on his performance? “
Lasorda’s last game came on June 23, 1996, with a 4-3 victory over the Astros. The next day he went to the hospital, where he learned he had a heart attack. He retired five weeks later.
Lasorda retired to win the gold medal of the American team at the 2000 Olympics, beating the much-favored Cuban team. He is the only man to have won a team with a world series title and an Olympic gold medal.
Thomas Charles Lasorda was born on September 22, 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the second of five brothers born to Sabatino and Carmella Lasorda.
He was a childhood friend of Vincent Piazza, the father of Hall of Fame receiver Mike Piazza. Lasorda is the godfather of Thomas Piazza, Mike’s younger brother, and it was Lasorda who pushed for the Dodgers to take the unknown Mike Piazza to the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, the 1,390th player selected.
Lasorda is survived by his 70-year-old wife, Jo, a daughter, Laura and a granddaughter. His son, Thomas Jr., died in 1991.
A tireless supporter of various charities, Lasorda spent many of his seasons traveling from coast to coast raising money. Although he sent five-figure fees from corporate clients, he said he “never took a penny” from churches or schools.
“I think I owe something to people,” he once said. “I want to go out and promote the Dodgers and baseball. … You could say it’s like putting something back in the pot. I have a lot to be thankful for. ”