Jo Lasorda, the widow of Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda, died on Monday, the team announced. She was 91 years of age. Lasorda was pronounced dead at her Fullerton, California home. The Dodgers have not revealed the cause of death. This is the second death of Tommy in January at the age of 93.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers family were saddened to learn of the passing of Jo Lasorda, widow of Dodgers’ Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda. Jo, 91, passed away Monday evening at 8:59 p.m. at her Fullerton home,” Twitter was the place where they posted their thoughts. “We send our deepest condolences to the Lasorda family at this time.”
According to the Associated Press, Lasorda, formerly Joan Miller, met Tommy Lasorda at a minor league baseball game in Greenville, South Carolina where he was playing for the Spinners. Their union lasted 70 years and was completed on April 14, 1950. Lasorda’s survivors include daughter Laura, granddaughter Emily, and Gladys Reeves, her sister. Tommy Lasorda Jr., her son, was killed in 1991.
Lasorda was Tommy Lasorda’s companion through his entire baseball career. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame 1997. Lasorda led two World Series championships for the Dodgers (1981 and 1988) and was twice named NL Manager Of The Year (1983, 1988). Lasorda’s managerial career saw him win 1,599 games as well as 31 postseason games. His No. The Dodgers have retired his No. 2 jersey.
“Tommy Lasorda was one of the finest managers our game has ever known. He loved life as a Dodger,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement after Lasorda died. “His career began as a pitcher in 1949 but he is, of course, best known as the manager of two World Series champions and four pennant-winning clubs. His passion, success, charisma, and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature that he used to grow our sport. Tommy welcomed Dodger players from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Japan, South Korea, and elsewhere — making baseball a stronger, more diverse and better game. He served Major League Baseball as the Global Ambassador for the first two editions of the World Baseball Classic and managed Team USA to gold in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney…
“It was an honor to have had a great friendship with Tommy. I will be missing him. In his last months, he witnessed his beloved Dodgers win their first World Series title since 1988. Major League Baseball extends our deepest condolences to Lasorda and their whole family, as well as the Dodger organization, and all their generations of loyal supporters.