As a pitcher, Lasorda had a modest career at the major league level, going 0-4 with a 6.48 ERA and 13 strikeouts from 1954-56.

Author : davidsbenner

Publish Date : 2021-01-09 19:27:47

As a pitcher, Lasorda had a modest career at the major league level, going 0-4 with a 6.48 ERA and 13 strikeouts from 1954-56.

“There were a group of us, I think, who were destined to become Dodgers,” Garvey said in 1993. “Tom did a great job making sure everybody knew their role. And maybe being part of a juggernaut helped add some years to some guys’ professional careers.”

Garvey and Lopes later manned the Dodgers’ infield for a decade and were joined by Ron Cey, who arrived to the Spokane Indians in 1971.Lasorda stayed on with the Dodgers as a scout after they released him in 1960. That was the beginning of a steady climb through the Dodgers’ system that culminated in his 1973 promotion to the big league staff under longtime Hall of Fame manager Walter Alston.

Lasorda spent four seasons as third-base coach while considered to be the heir apparent to Alston, who retired in September 1976.

“That group you saw in Spokane basically was the group that bridged the gap in Los Angeles from a team that was the old Brooklyn Dodgers to one that was the real Los Angeles Dodgers,” Garvey said. “And Tom was the catalyst of it.”

Lasorda had a history of heart problems, including a heart attack in 1996 that ended his managerial career and another in 2012 that required him to have a pacemaker.

He had just returned home Tuesday after being hospitalized since Nov. 8 with heart issues.

Lasorda attended the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Oct. 27 in Texas that clinched the team’s first World Series title since 1988.

“It feels appropriate that in his final months, he saw his beloved Dodgers win the World Series for the first time since his 1988 team,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said.

Lasorda had served as special adviser to team owner and chairman Mark Walter for the past 14 years, and maintained a frequent presence at games sitting in Walter’s box.

“He was a great ambassador for the team and baseball, a mentor to players and coaches, he always had time for an autograph and a story for his many fans and he was a good friend,” Walter said. “He will be dearly missed.”

Lasorda worked as a player, scout, manager and front office executive with the Dodgers dating to their roots in Brooklyn.

He compiled a 1,599-1,439 record, won World Series titles in 1981 and ’88, four National League pennants and eight division titles while serving as Dodgers manager from 1977-96.

He was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1997 as a manager. He guided the U.S. to a baseball gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Lasorda was the franchise’s longest-tenured active employee since Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully retired in 2016 after 67 years. He drew standing ovations when introduced at games in recent years.

“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.”

Lasorda often proclaimed, “I bleed Dodger blue” and he kept a bronze plaque on his desk reading: “Dodger Stadium was his address, but every ballpark was his home.”Born Thomas Charles Lasorda on Sept. 22, 1927, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, his pro career began when he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent in 1945. He missed the 1946 and ’47 seasons while serving in the Army.

Lasorda returned in 1948 and once struck out 25 players in a 15-inning game. In his next two starts, he struck out 15 and 13, gaining the attention of the Dodgers, who drafted him from the Phillies. He played in Panama and Cuba before making his major league debut on Aug. 5, 1954, for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Although he didn’t play in the 1955 World Series, he won a ring as a member of the team.

Lasorda pitched for the Dodgers for two seasons before the Kansas City Athletics bought his contract. He was traded to the Yankees in 1956 and sent down to the Triple-A Denver Bears before being sold back to the Dodgers in 1957. During his time with the Bears, Lasorda was influenced by manager Ralph Houk, who became his role model.“He taught me how a pat on a shoulder can be just as important as a kick in the butt.”

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As a pitcher, Lasorda had a modest career at the major league level, going 0-4 with a 6.48 ERA and 13 strikeouts from 1954-56.

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