Lasorda came out of retirement to lead the USA National Baseball Team to one of the greatest upsets in Olympic baseball history by beating Cuba in the final of the Sydney 2000 Games.
Tom Lasorda, the manager who led the United States to their sole baseball Olympic gold in 2000, passed away aged 93 on Thursday, 7 January.
Lasorda suffered a sudden cardiopulmonary arrest at his home before being pronounced dead at hospital soon after. The Baseball Hall of Famer had been hospitalized with heath issues from 8 November, 2020 to 5 January, 2021.
A pitcher during his playing days (1954-1956), Lasorda went on to have a legendary career as a manager (1976-1996) with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won 1,599 games and led the Dodgers to two World Series titles, four National League pennants and was named National League Manager of the Year twice.
So sad to hear of the passing of my true friend Tom Lasorda. A great baseball man with a warm heart and a great mind. His journey to win gold as the manager of USA at Sydney 2000 is one of the great Olympic inspirational stories. My sincere condolence to the Lasorda family.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997 and served various roles with the Dodgers after his retirement. He also managed the United States National Team to a historic win against Cuba in the gold medal game of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
The 2000 USA Baseball Olympic Team was a ragtag group of players that had never played together as a team and Lasorda led it to one of the greatest upsets in Olympic baseball history. Their triumph was remarkable, but the story of their coming together was even harder to imagine.
Lasorda, the son of an Italian immigrant, was also an advocate of international baseball. He served as the official Ambassador of the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009.
