Tommy Lasorda, a Los Angeles Dodgers icon and one of the most decorated managers in baseball history, died Thursday at age 93, the Dodgers announced.
Lasorda, who was in attendance at Globe Life Field when the Dodgers won the World Series in October, was admitted to an intensive care unit with an undisclosed illness in November. He returned home earlier this week but suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home late Thursday, dying soon afterward.
"Tommy Lasorda was one of the finest managers our game has ever known. ... His passion, success, charisma, and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature he used to grow the sport," commissioner Rob Manfred said. "Tommy welcomed Dodger players from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, and elsewhere - making baseball a stronger, more diverse, and better game."
"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," Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said. "A tireless spokesman for baseball, his dedication to the sport and the team he loved was unmatched. ... Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable."
Lasorda succeeded Walter Alston - another Hall of Fame skipper - as Dodgers manager late in 1976. Lasorda managed the Dodgers for 19 full seasons and parts of two others, leading them to seven postseason appearances, four pennants, and two World Series titles.
Known as a fiery competitor in the dugout, Lasorda's 1,599 wins rank 22nd all time and are second only to Alston in Dodgers history. His teams won 90 games on seven occasions, and he was a two-time NL Manager of the Year. Lasorda's 31 postseason victories are tied with Dusty Baker for 11th all time.
Lasorda retired partway through the 1996 season after suffering a heart attack and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame one year later. The Dodgers retired his No. 2 in 1997. He made a brief return to managing at the 2000 Olympics with Team USA and became the only skipper in baseball history to win both a World Series and Olympic gold medal.
The Norristown, Pennsylvania, native started his baseball career as a left-handed pitcher in 1945. Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies, Lasorda spent most of his playing days with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Montreal; though a star in Montreal, he only made 26 big-league appearances across three seasons for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics. He was part of Brooklyn's World Series-winning club in 1955 but didn't pitch in the playoffs.
"He was a fellow with limited ability and he pushed himself to be a very good Triple-A pitcher," retired Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully recalled. "He never quite had that something extra that makes a major leaguer, but it wasn't because he didn't try. Those are some of the things (I'll remember): his competitive spirit, his determination, and above all, this boundless energy and self-respect."
All told, Lasorda spent 71 seasons in the Dodgers organization as a player, manager, coach, scout, and executive. He was employed as a special adviser to Dodgers chairman Mark Walter at the time of his death.
Lasorda was the oldest living member of the Hall of Fame, an honor that now belongs to 89-year-old Willie Mays.
