Tommy Lasorda, who claimed to “bleed blue Dodger” from the moment he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1949 and decades later became the colorful and very successful manager of the transplanted Los Angeles Dodgers, winning two World Series titles, died Thursday at 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.
“Words cannot express my feelings,” posted former Mets manager Bobby Valentine. “A 52-year-old friend and mentor is no longer with us. Tommy, no one will ever fill the void you left. Thanks for everything. REST IN PEACE”
Lasorda had just been discharged from hospital on Tuesday after being admitted in mid-November for undisclosed reasons.
In October, he was at the Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, in his role as special advisor to team president Mark Walter to see the Dodgers defeat the Rays and win their first world championship since their 1988 team, highlighted by the game of Kirk Gibson- winning Dennis Eckersley’s home run, accomplished 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 in parts of three seasons with the Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics. Lasorda, who originally signed with his hometown Phillies, made three substitute appearances for the Dodgers in 1954, and was sent to the minors when the Dodgers maintained an 18-year-old southpaw named Sandy Koufax.
“When [general manager] Buzzie [Bavasi] told me he was going to fall, told him he was crazy, “Lasorda told MLB.com in 2005.” That guy couldn’t knock on a barn door 50 feet away and I won 20 games [in the minors]. I can honestly say that it took the biggest southpaw in football history to replace me.
“I still think they made a mistake.”
Lasorda made his only start in Brooklyn the following season. He was removed after the first inning after throwing three wild shots and being spiked in a play on the home plate when St. Louis’ Wally Moon scored on that third wild shot. Lasorda was sent to minors, where he had a long career, soon after and never played for the Dodgers.
Following his playing career – which also included a stint with the Yankees Triple-A team in Denver, where he was influenced by Bears coach Ralph Houk – Lasorda became a scout for the Dodgers, so he worked his way into the secondary league before being appointed coach of the Dodgers’ third base in 1973.
After the 1976 season, Lasorda replaced the Hall of Famer Walter Alston as manager of the Dodgers and quickly began to make his own way towards Cooperstown, earning pennants in his first two seasons, when his teams were defeated by the Yankees in the World Series. During his tenure, he led nine players to the honors of Newbie of the Year in NL, including Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax and Mike Piazza.
He also befriended presidents and countless Hollywood stars – including Frank Sinatra, Don Rickles, Milton Berle and Robert Wagner – and pictures of his famous friends filled the walls of his office at Dodger Stadium.
“I tell you, only in this great nation of ours does the third-string pitcher from Norristown, Pennsylvania, the varsity son of an Italian immigrant, be friends with some of the world’s greatest artists,” he said Sports Illustrated in 1984.
“I am the sole general manager of baseball,” said former Dodgers general manager Al Campanis once, “who, when he wants to speak to his manager, has to call the Oval Office at the White House, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas or Lasorda’s restaurant in Exton, Pennsylvania. “
Among the photos, Lasorda managed 3,038 major league games, winning 1,599. Although he was known for his obscene language at the stadium, his wife, Jo, claimed that neither she nor her children had ever heard this side of her husband. Lasorda’s offensive diatribe when a reporter asked what he thought of Dave Kingman after the Cubs slugger hit three home runs and drove eight races in a 1978 Dodgers defeat remains a classic.
“What is my opinion of Kingman’s performance?” Said Lasorda. “What [expletive] do you think my opinion is about this? I think it was [expletive]. Put that on. I do not [expletive] Caution. What is my opinion on his performance? [Expletive.] He beat us with three [expletive] home runs.
“What [expletive] I mean, what is my opinion on his performance? How can you ask me a question like that? I’m [expletive] out to lose one [expletive] game, and you ask me my opinion about his performance? “
Lasorda’s last game was on June 23, 1996, with a 4-3 victory over Astros. The next day, he drove alone to the hospital, where he learned he was having a heart attack. He retired five weeks later.
Lasorda came out of retirement to direct the United States national team to the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, defeating the favorite Cuban team. He is the only man to manage a team that won the 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 catcher Mike Piazza. Lasorda is godfather to Thomas Piazza, Mike’s younger brother, and it was Lasorda who lobbied the Dodgers to take the unknown Mike Piazza in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, the 1,390th player selected.
Lasorda leaves his 70-year-old wife, Jo, a daughter, Laura, and a granddaughter. Her son, Thomas Jr., died in 1991.
A tireless supporter of several charities, Lasorda has spent many seasons traveling from coast to coast raising money. Although he charged five-digit lecture fees from corporate clients, he said he “never took a cent” from churches or schools.
“I feel like I owe the people something,” he said once. “I want to go out and spread the word about the Dodgers and baseball. … You can say it’s like putting something back in the pot. I have much to be thankful for. “