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Old 01-08-2021, 1:33pm   #1
Anjdog2003
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Default Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda dies at 93

Tommy Lasorda, who for more than two decades managed the Los Angeles Dodgers and for twice that long lent his simmering, feisty, in-your-face temperament to the iconic franchise, died Thursday night. He was 93.

The team announced that he “suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home.”

His death came less than three months after the Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays for their first World Series championship in 32 years. Lasorda attended the deciding Game 6 in Arlington, Texas. He had been hospitalized and placed in intensive care in November, and returned home Tuesday.

In a loud rasp and with a sparkle in his eyes, Lasorda regularly declared that his blood ran blue for the Dodgers and challenged anyone to disprove it.

After a brief major-league career as a left-handed pitcher, then as a minor-league manager, scout and big-league third-base coach, Lasorda replaced the legendary Walter Alston as Dodgers manager in 1976.

Over the next 21 years, he feted celebrities, appeared on television shows, bickered with umpires and won baseball games. When a heart attack ended his managing career midway through the 1996 season, Lasorda had won 1,599 games for the Dodgers, along with four National League pennants and two World Series titles. He was twice the NL's manager of the year, and in 1997 was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Dodgers retired his No. 2.

In a run that spoke to the stability of the organization under the ownership of the O'Malley family, the Dodgers had two managers from 1954 to 1996 — Alston and Lasorda.

In Los Angeles, he was always just Tommy, an uncle figure who liked to eat and laugh and, when it came time for baseball, wouldn't give an inch. He was properly despised in many other ballparks, especially in San Francisco, where he would walk the foul line at Candlestick Park blowing kisses into the gales of boos.

In a moment that perfectly captured the tough kid from Norristown, Pennsylvania, who'd grown up to become the tough man who led the Dodgers, Lasorda gathered his club following its Game 5 win against the Oakland A's in the 1988 World Series. Champagne plastered his hair and soaked his uniform.



Tommy Lasorda threw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the 2018 World Series against the Boston Red Sox.
"Hold it!" he shouted into the celebration, standing on a chair and raising his arms to claim the room. "Nobody thought we could win the division! Nobody thought we could beat the mighty Mets! Nobody thought we could beat the team that won 104 games!"

At that he balled his fists and thrust them to the ceiling.

"We believed it!" he cried before he was lost in more spray, and as his players — Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser, Mike Scioscia among them — whooped and carried on.

That was Lasorda. Blustery. Contentious. Spirited. Occasionally profane. He'd come from an era when a manager was judged by not only his wins and losses, but how hard his team played, and how much he could pry from the roster. So he sometimes burned through pitchers and often challenged his players for more. He valued loyalty above almost all else, and when he asked they would, somewhat bemused, admit to bleeding the blue as well.

He spent the past 20 years serving Peter O'Malley and then the three owners who succeeded the O'Malleys, briefly as a general manager, primarily as vice president and as an ambassador to the organization and the game. He managed Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in 2000.

Even as his body slowly failed him — he'd been hospitalized with various ailments in recent years — Lasorda still was a regular at Dodger Stadium, in his seat a few steps from the Dodgers' dugout. Fans called his name as he walked the concourses of the ballpark. He'd often smile and wave. Until recently he traveled regularly, speaking to groups about baseball, the Dodgers and his career.

Lasorda was born in 1927 to Sabatino and Carmella Lasorda, Italian immigrants who had settled in Norristown. Tommy was the second of five sons. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945. Three years later the Brooklyn Dodgers drafted him from the Phillies. A longtime minor leaguer, Lasorda debuted for the Dodgers in 1954. He pitched in four games that season, another four the following season, and in 18 games for the Kansas City A's in 1956. Lasorda liked to say he'd have pitched more in the major leagues except the Dodgers were committed at the time to another left-hander, that being Sandy Koufax. Sometimes it was hard to tell if Lasorda was joking. When he retired, Lasorda had thrown 58 ⅓ major league innings and more than 2,100 minor-league innings.

Tommy and his wife, Jo, were married for 70 years. They bought a house in Fullerton more than 50 years ago and never left it. They had two children: a son, Tommy Jr., whom most called Spunky, and a daughter, Laura. Spunky died in 1991.
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Old 01-08-2021, 1:48pm   #2
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Lots of memories there.
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Old 01-08-2021, 2:49pm   #3
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Lots of memories there.
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Old 01-08-2021, 3:27pm   #4
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My son called me about this today. Very sad. More of my youth slipping away.

During the 1980's, I worked for a radio station in Los Angeles that Tommy Lasorda listened to constantly. They played mostly big bands, standards from the 50's and 60's, etc. Through a series of events, I came to know Tommy and made tapes of our music for him (with the stations approval), delivering them regularly to the Dodger clubhouse after games. He was gregarious, funny, gracious and always appreciative in a kind of "paisano" sort of way. I really got to love the guy.

RIP Tommy.
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Old 01-08-2021, 3:58pm   #5
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Rest In Peace. Good for him to see a World Series win even if it was a participation trophy season.
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Old 01-08-2021, 4:29pm   #6
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Definitely was here when sports were still great. Nobody in this town in 1988 does not remember where they were for the Gibson HR in game 1. RIP Tommy
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Old 01-08-2021, 5:02pm   #7
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Rest In Peace. Good for him to see a World Series win even if it was a participation trophy season.



L.A Dodgers lead the "Poop in the streets" Giants 568–538 in wins. Dodgers 6 WS wins "Poop in the streets" Giants 3 WS wins. L.A Dodgers 19 Western Div. Titles "Poop in the streets" Giants 8. It took the Dodgers ONE year to win a WS after moving out here. It took the "Poop in the streets" Giants 52 years to win a WS after moving out here.


Dodgers 1 Giants 0

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Old 01-08-2021, 5:13pm   #8
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A great ambassador of the game for decades. I was never a Dodger fan, but I always enjoyed watching him on TV.

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Old 01-08-2021, 7:03pm   #9
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RIP.
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Old 01-08-2021, 8:43pm   #10
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R.I.P. Tommy.

My favorite Dodger.

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Old 01-08-2021, 8:47pm   #11
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May he rest in peace and be blessed by God.
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Old 01-08-2021, 8:49pm   #12
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Always enjoyed it when him and Sparky butted heads . Best rival in baseball in the 70's !
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Old 01-08-2021, 9:14pm   #13
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R.I.P. Tommy.

My favorite Dodger.

Fernando and his screwball drove hitters crazy.
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Old 01-10-2021, 10:11am   #14
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RIP
He lived a long life
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Old 01-10-2021, 10:38am   #15
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Old 01-10-2021, 6:06pm   #16
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Tommy had one helluva good run. It makes you long for the days of baseball before politics ruined it too.
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Old 01-10-2021, 6:28pm   #17
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I'm not sure I can ever forgive him for what he did to the Philly Phanatic.
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Old 01-10-2021, 6:51pm   #18
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I'm not sure I can ever forgive him for what he did to the Philly Phanatic.






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