Kasten: Lasorda, 93, ‘ embodied Dodger spirit’

Tommy Lasorda, the charismatic manager of the Dodgers who maintained a relationship with the franchise as a player, coach, manager and executive for 71 seasons, has died at 93.

“I’ll never want to take off this uniform,” Lasorda told USA TODAY Sports in a 2014 interview. “I want to keep working for the Dodgers until the day I die. That’s the truth.” That’s exactly what he did. Lasorda suffered a heart attack at his home at 10: 09 p. m. Thursday. He was transported to the hospital with resuscitation in progress but was pronounced dead at 10: 57.

“In a franchise that has celebrated such great legends of the game, no one who wore the uniform embodied the Dodger spirit as much as Tommy Lasorda,” President and CEO Stan

Kasten said in a statement. “A tireless spokesman for baseball, his dedication to the sport and the team he loved was unmatched. He was a champion who at critical moments seemingly willed his teams to victory. The Dodgers and their fans will miss him terribly. Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable.”

Said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in a statement: “Tommy Lasorda was one of the finest managers our game has ever known. He loved life as a Dodger. ... His passion, success, charisma and sense of humor turned him into an international celebrity, a stature that he used to grow our sport.”

Lasorda was 1,599- 1,439 (. 526) as Dodgers’ manager from 1976 to 1996. His teams won eight division, four National League and two World Series championships. In 1997, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.