Posted on 01/08/2021 10:34:32 AM PST by ShadowAce
LOS ANGELES -- Tommy Lasorda, the son of Italian immigrants and a professional pitcher who became a legendary Dodgers manager, global baseball ambassador and national treasure, died on Thursday. He was 93.
Commissioner Rob Manfred issued the following statement:
“Tommy Lasorda was one of the finest managers our game has ever known. He loved life as a Dodger. His career began as a pitcher in 1949 but he is, of course, best known as the manager of two World Series champions and four pennant-winning clubs. His passion, success, charisma and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature that he used to grow our sport. Tommy welcomed Dodger players from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere -- making baseball a stronger, more diverse and better game. He served Major League Baseball as the Global Ambassador for the first two editions of the World Baseball Classic and managed Team USA to gold in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Tommy loved family, the United States, the National Pastime and the Dodgers, and he made them all proud during a memorable baseball life.
“I am extremely fortunate to have developed a wonderful friendship with Tommy and will miss him. It feels appropriate that in his final months, he saw his beloved Dodgers win the World Series for the first time since his 1988 team. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest sympathy to his wife of 70 years, Jo, and their entire family, the Dodger organization and their generations of loyal fans.”
In three seasons as a Major League pitcher, Lasorda went 0-4 and reminded nobody of Sandy Koufax, who replaced him on the Brooklyn roster. But as the Dodgers manager for two decades, Lasorda crafted a body of work that earned him a place alongside Koufax in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Before his death, Lasorda was the oldest living Hall of Famer, a distinction that now passes to Willie Mays, 89.
He died after serving in his 71st season with the Dodgers, an extraordinary display of loyalty. He spent the last two decades as a special advisor to the chairman (currently Mark Walter), having been rescued by previous chairman Frank McCourt from an exile imposed when News Corp. bought the club from Peter O’Malley and his sister, Terry Seidler.
“My family, my partners and I were blessed to have spent a lot of time with Tommy,” said Walter in a statement. “He was a great ambassador for the team and baseball, a mentor to players and coaches, he always had time for an autograph and a story for his many fans and he was a good friend. He will be dearly missed.”
pic.twitter.com/E1qyeKtfjl— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 8, 2021
Lasorda’s career began as a smallish left-handed pitcher with a big heart and fighting spirit. When that dream ended, he switched to scouting, then built a résumé as a Minor League manager, Major League third-base coach, Hall of Fame Major League manager, acting general manager and senior vice president.
He earned eight honorary doctorate degrees, had an asteroid named after him by Cal Tech, had a wife (Jo) of 70 years and was still making appearances every year on behalf of the Dodgers and MLB. He is in 17 Halls of Fame, and if they had one for eating, he’d be in there, too. He savored the “fruits of victory,” not to mention industrial-sized portions of linguini and clams.
Lasorda was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 on the strength of 20-plus seasons managing the Dodgers (1976-96). He is one of only four managers in big league history to manage the same team for 20 years or more -- the others being Connie Mack, John McGraw and Lasorda's predecessor, Walter Alston.
"In a franchise that has celebrated such great legends of the game, no one who wore the uniform embodied the Dodger spirit as much as Tommy Lasorda," Dodger president and CEO Stan Kasten said. "A tireless spokesman for baseball, his dedication to the sport and the team he loved was unmatched. He was a champion who at critical moments seemingly willed his teams to victory. The Dodgers and their fans will miss him terribly. Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable."
Well, that does it.
Ya got me cryin’ here.
Lasorda is on a short roster of My Most Beloved Humans.
I saw his heart and soul in how he managed the players; saw the love and respect between him and guys like pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. Yeah, he cared about stats and performance, but he loved the people first and foremost. He never managed a dugout full of statistics; he led teams of men he respected and cared for.
Not being a celebrity wonk, I never dug into Tommy’s life, only recorded what I saw, which was mostly during ballgames, and what I saw was monument to living life among others as decently as possible. I’ve no doubt Tommy wasn’t perfect, but sticking with the same wife for 70 years is a Hall Of Fame stat all by itself.
A towering baseball personality, both inside and outside the ballpark, Lasorda’s departure has left the world with a VERY large, and well-worn pair of empty shoes.
And there’s a rainy place, now, in my heart, too.
He was a character. We’re not going to have a lot of cool characters in the future because everyone has to be so “careful” and “safe”. Sad.
Glad this character had a nice long life.
PLAY BALL.
Memory Eternal!!!!
Go F yourself
My memory of Lasorda comes from the Rick Monday flag saving incident.
“By the time he’d handed it to a teammate near the dugout, Tommy Lasorda let the protesters have a few choice words. At the time, Lasorda was the third baseman for the Dodgers. He [Lasorda] came running past me yelling about every expletive that a longshoreman would utter on a bad, bad day!” Monday said.
If Monday hadn’t gotten the flag, Lasorda was headed there too.
A great personality, great manager, great patriot. RIP from a Cards fan.
I saw his heart and soul in how he managed the players; saw the love and respect between him and guys like pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. Yeah, he cared about stats and performance, but he loved the people first and foremost. He never managed a dugout full of statistics; he led teams of men he respected and cared for.
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Excellence description of Tommy Lasorda...
RIP to Tommy...
His son passed away many years ago...That was a sad story...
lol......another crybaby.....its even in your name
I think Tommy and President Reagan got along very well...
I don’t know much about sports, but he always seemed to be a regular likeable guy.
RIP
Not a Dodgers fan, but a Lasorda fan
Also not a Tigers fan, but a Sparky Anderson fan
Two of the greats.
Last year of the great ones! RIP Tommy!
His expletive-filled rant about Kurt Bevacqua is epic. I was a big Dodger fan as a kid and when I was 12 or so I wrote to Tommy Lasorda and asked for an autograph. He wrote “To (my name), a future Dodger.” Small gestures like that made the game great.
I met him when I was a teenager back in the 80’s (I know, I’m telling my age). My church’s youth group had travelled from SC to Atlanta to watch the Braves play the Dodgers.
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Thanks for the story...
Joe Torre became the Dodgers manager many years later...
I hope that you still supported Dodgers when Torre was the manager...
You were clearly not happy with how Mr. Torre treated you and your group...
I knew Torre managed the Yankees for a long time, but I didn’t know about him managing the Dodgers :9) and yes, I still support the Dodgers.
Joe Torre managed Dodgers from 2008 to 2010...
I am glad that you were willing to support Dodgers although it employed Joe Torre...
I thought that Mr. Torre was a nice guy...
But, I was disappointed to hear how he treated you back in 1980s...Nobody is perfect...
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