Lasorda elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Thursday, March 6, 1997

DODGERS:

Rumors of possible comeback to management prove falseBy Tom
Withers

The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. — Tommy Lasorda isn’t returning to baseball; he’s
headed for the Hall of Fame instead.

Lasorda was elected along with Nellie Fox, a durable second
baseman for the Chicago White Sox, and Negro Leaguer Willie Wells
Sr. by the hall’s veterans committee on Wednesday.

Lasorda has always said he bleeds Dodger blue, so it was fitting
he got word of the committee’s vote while watching his beloved
Dodgers play Montreal in Vero Beach, Fla.

"I cried," Lasorda said. "They were tears of joy. When they
announced it at the game, I got chills. I couldn’t believe it."

Lasorda, one of only four managers in history to guide the same
team for at least 20 years, retired in 1996 following 47 seasons in
the Dodgers’ organization.

Charismatic and always ready to trumpet his love for baseball,
Lasorda had hinted at a possible comeback, leading to speculation
he would be passed over by the 15-member committee.

However, Lasorda, 69, recently said he had no intention of
managing again, and the committee took his word.

"We told him that if he managed again, we’d tear down the
statue," joked committee chairman Joe Brown.

Lasorda, the 14th manager to make it to Cooperstown, N.Y. won
two World Series titles with Los Angeles. He said it was a mistake
to think he was considering a return.

"Wanting to manage and asking to manage is a little bit
different," Lasorda said. "That’s what the misunderstanding was. I
didn’t go out and solicit. Heck, I gave up the best managing job in
the world."

Does that mean his managing days are over?

"Now that I’m in the Hall of Fame," he said. "That’s it."

Lasorda, Fox and Wells will be inducted on Aug. 3 in
Cooperstown.