Lasorda won two World Series in 20 years as Dodgers manager, spending 71 years total with the clubGETTY IMAGES
Legendary Dodgers manager TOMMY LASORDA died Thursday of a heart attack at the age of 93, and after 71 seasons with the team and was "one of the few remaining links to the club’s Brooklyn roots," according to Helene Elliott of the L.A. TIMES (1/9). Former Dodgers President PETER O'MALLEY said Lasorda’s retirement in '96 "opened the door to ... 'the next chapter of his life,' as his identity morphed from Dodgers manager to baseball ambassador." In L.A., Bill Shaikin wrote Lasorda "traveled across the country and around the world to promote the game he loved." O'Malley said of Lasorda, “He was all in. He never signed autographs, or talked to a group, or supported his players, or talked to fans, even the media, with less than 100%. He was committed -- to baseball, to the organization, in everything he did" (L.A. TIMES, 1/10).
ONE (AND LAST) OF A KIND: SI.com's Tom Verducci wrote against the "backdrop of a clinical, more corporate game," Lasorda seems "centuries away, not just years." His old Dodgers office was the place where Lasorda "not just met the press, but it also was where Lasorda did Lasorda" That someone" (SI.com, 1/8). USA TODAY's Gabe Lacques: "Simply, there was nobody like him before -- and a quarter-century after he managed a major-league game, it’s clear we will never see anyone like him again." Lasorda "certainly upended the platonic ideal of a major league manager," stumping "ferociously and unapologetically for his Dodgers" (USA TODAY, 1/8). In Boston, Sean McAdam wrote it is "unlikely that baseball will ever see anyone like Tommy Lasorda again." He was "equal parts hype man, televangelist and diplomat, boosting the game world-wide" (BOSTON SPORTS JOURNAL, 1/9). In L.A., Bill Plaschke: "Tommy Lasorda was the first to bleed Dodger Blue and did so for nearly every bit of his time on Earth, spilling it across every corner of the world" (L.A. TIMES, 1/9).
EVER THE SHOWMAN: In N.Y., Tyler Kepner wrote with Lasorda, the "games were only part of the story." He was a "genuine celebrity, a friend of FRANK SINATRA and DON RICKLES who always knew where to find a camera." Lasorda’s "most profound legacy, perhaps, is in the way he changed the role of manager." While his predecessor as Dodgers manager, WALTER ALSTON, "could be distant and taciturn," Lasorda was an "unabashed cheerleader for his players, creating an environment where young players thrived, and motivating players as few could" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/9). In L.A., Christie D'Zurilla noted Lasorda "did a spot for Yoplait Yogurt in 1979 in which he spoke French, and another commercial in 1983 in which he spelled heartburn relief R-O-L-A-I-D-S." Another "fun spot was for Commodore’s Amiga computer." Lasorda also "served as a pitchman for Ultra Slim-Fast in the early 1990s" (L.A. TIMES, 1/9).
MR. BASEBALL: ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian wrote Lasorda "brought Hollywood to the Dodgers." He "loved the celebrity lifestyle; he loved that he became friends with movie stars, singers and other glitterati." But "mostly, he loved baseball and he loved the Dodgers" (ESPN.com, 1/8). In Boston, Peter Abraham wrote Lasorda was "genuine in his enthusiasm for baseball and especially his Dodgers" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/10). In N.Y., Phill Mushnick wrote Lasorda was, "Canada to the Equator, Uncle Baseball." Mushick: "I was blessed to have had an all-day, close-up of an extraordinary man" (N.Y. POST, 1/10).
DODGER BLUE TO THE END: In L.A., Dylan Hernandez noted Lasorda "outlasted every one of his contemporaries, his 71 years with the Dodgers matched by no other employee, not even Vin Scully." And despite significant adversity, he "remained devoted to the organization." He "believed that if he loved the Dodgers enough, they would love him back. Ultimately, he was right" (L.A. TIMES, 1/9).
