Famous friends and sports legends remember Tommy Lasorda
Where have you gone Tommy Lasorda? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you
Tommy Lasorda, one of the the Dodgeriest Dodgers to ever Dodger, has rounded third and come home. The Hall of Fame manager began his major league career in Brooklyn, and led the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles. He died at his home in Fullerton, California, Thursday, according to the team he devoted 71 years of his life to. He was 93.
Lasorda was a Dodger lifer. And now he may well be a Dodger after-lifer: “Cut my veins and I bleed Dodger blue,” he told the New York Times in 1978. “If trouble comes, I pray to that big Dodger in the sky.”
The gregarious baseball legend (and Slim Fast pitchman) was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. But Lasorda entered the big leagues in Brooklyn. He was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Phillies’ farm system after pitching for the Army, from which he was discharged in the spring of 1947. He (more forgettably than famously) pitched a total of 13 innings for Dem Bums in the 1954 and 1955 seasons, before being cut for a young Sandy Koufax.
He would return to the team as a scout in 1960, after they had moved to California. And there he’d stay. The announcement of Lasorda’s death sparked remembrances and condolences from famous friends everywhere:
There is crying in baseball. https://t.co/wZ9h6km6FG
— Billy Crystal (@BillyCrystal) January 8, 2021
I will miss our conversations about the Dodgers & the Lakers. He meant the world to the Dodgers organization, MLB, and to the city of Los Angeles. He will always be known to Dodger Nation as “Mr. Dodger.” Cookie and I are praying for the entire Lasorda family. May he RIP.🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/fu8OIwqSWo
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 8, 2021
no one loved anything more than Tommy Lasorda loved the @Dodgers – it was a thrill to know him. Sending love to his family, friends, players and fans.
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) January 8, 2021
Legendary @Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda has died. He was 93.
In 20 years as the Dodgers manager, he won 2 World Series championships, 4 NL pennants & 8 division titles.
A true ambassador for baseball he insisted he “bled Dodger blue.” Our condolences to his wife Jo & family.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 8, 2021
Dodger great, Tommy Lasorda has passed. He was Dodger blue through and through. #Dodgers
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) January 8, 2021
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There are two things about Tommy I will always remember. 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.
~ Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully ~
