Tommy Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles in the 1970s and the 1980s, has passed away at the age of 93 after suffering sudden cardiopulmonary arrest on Jan. 7. Lasorda spent over 70 years working for the Dodgers organization. 

“Tommy Lasorda was one of the finest managers our game has ever known. He loved life as a Dodger. His passion, success, charisma, and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature that he used to grow our sport,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said.

Lasorda was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on Sept. 22, 1927. He first started playing professional baseball when he was 18-years-old as an undrafted agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. Lasorda’s first connection to the Dodgers started in 1949, when he was drafted as a pitcher. Lasorda eventually became one of the team’s most recognized players.

Most Dodgers fans remember him delivering big wins during his 20 years as manager. Lasorda’s smarts and experience put him in a group of legendary baseball managers along with Casey Stengel and others. In 1996, he stepped down as manager due to a mild heart attack. Lasorda was known for continuing to practice pitch batting in his 60s and nine of his players won the NL Rookie of the Year award, including Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax, and Steve Howe. 

“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… 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,” Dodgers chief executive Stan Kasten said.

Over the past few years, Lasorda had been in and out of hospitals because of heart, shoulder, and back problems. After his retirement as a major league manager, Lasorda helped the U.S. Olympic Baseball team win a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Games. Lasorda was also a fearless left-handed pitcher with 1,599 victories under his belt. While Lasorda wasn’t considered to be a great innovator, he was a great motivator and had a great sense for managing players. 

Overall, Lasorda was a great manager and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and it is upsetting that he had to go. Rest in peace, Tommy Lasorda. 

Photo courtesy of LATIMES.ORG