Baseball lost one of its most dynamic and legendary managers in major-league history when Tommy Lasorda died on Thursday night. He was 93.
The Dodgers announced on Friday that he suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at home the night before and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
As the Dodgers’ manager from 1976-96, Lasorda led the club to eight division titles, four National League pennants and two World Series championships (1981 and 1988), captivating fans and his players with his bold and loud personality. Lasorda, a two-time Manager of the Year winner, amassed a record of 1,599–1,439 to rank 22nd all-time in wins.
Following a heart attack in June 1996, he retired from managing the Dodgers the next month and was inducted as a skipper into the Hall of Fame in 1997.
After the Dodgers released the news of Lasorda’s death, Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully released a statement on the former manager and his passion for baseball.
“There are two things about Tommy I will always remember,” Scully said. “The first is his boundless enthusiasm. Tommy would get up in the morning full of beans and maintain that as long as he was with anybody else.
“The other was his determination. He was a fellow with limited ability and he pushed himself to be a very good Triple-A pitcher. 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: his competitive spirit, his determination, and above all, this boundless energy and self-belief. His heart was bigger than his talent and there were no foul lines for his enthusiasm.”
Several players, managers and teams across baseball took to social media to honor Lasorda and his impact on the game.
