Tommy Lasorda — a Dodgers legend and icon who led the team to two World Series titles during his 70-plus year association with the organization has passed away. He was 93.
Tommy Lasorda, the charismatic former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers who maintained a relationship with the franchise as a player, coach, manager and executive for 71 seasons, has died at the age of 93.
“I’ll never want to take off this uniform,” Lasorda told USA TODAY Sports in a 2014 interview. “I want to keep working for the Dodgers until the day I die. That’s the truth.”
And that’s exactly what he did.
Lasorda suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home at 10:09 p.m. on Thursday. He was transported to the hospital with resuscitation in progress. He was pronounced dead at 10:57 p.m.
USA Today
Lasorda had been hospitalized since November not long after he was able to witness the Dodgers win their first World Series title in 32 years in a Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Hall of Famer would eventually be discharged and return home last Tuesday but succumbed to his illness just two days later.
After a brief stint as a minor-leaguer and organizational employee, Lasorda eventually found himself replacing the legendary Walter Alston as Dodgers manager in 1976. Lasorda would remain the Dodgers skipper for the 20 years before a heart attack ended his tenure in 1996. However, this was not before the Legend was able to chalk up 1,599 wins as manager 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.
Lasorda’s No. 2 was also retired by the team.
