Jo Lasorda, the widow of Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda, died on Monday, the team announced. She was 91 years old. Lasorda died at her home in Fullerton, California, and the Dodgers did not reveal the cause of death. This comes after Tommy died at the age of 93 in January.
“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,” the team wrote on Twitter. “We send our deepest condolences to the Lasorda family at this time.”
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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. They got married on April 14, 1950, a union that lasted for 70 years. Lasorda is survived by daughter Laura, granddaughter Emily and her sister Gladys Reeves. Her son, Tommy Lasorda Jr., died in 1991.
Lasorda was with Tommy Lasorda through all the ups and downs of his baseball career. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. Lasorda led the Dodgers to two World Series titles (1981, 1988) and was named NL Manager of the year twice (1983, 1988). In his managerial career, Lasorda won 1,599 games and 31 postseason games. His No. 2 jersey is retired by the Dodgers.
“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…
“I am extremely fortunate to have developed a wonderful friendship with Tommy and will miss him. 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. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest sympathy to his wife of 70 years, Lasorda, and their entire family, the Dodger organization and their generations of loyal fans.”
