Lasorda Plans to Retire as Manager of Dodgers

Tom Lasorda, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last two decades, is expected to announce his retirement today, The Times has learned.

Lasorda, who had a heart attack in late June but last week said he had been medically cleared to return to duty, made the decision for health concerns, a source said.

It is anticipated that he will remain in an administrative role with the organization that has employed him for 47 years and that the future of interim Manager Bill Russell will be decided at the end of the season.

Lasorda, 68, underwent an angioplasty procedure June 26 at Centinela Hospital Medical Center after entering the hospital two days earlier because of stomach pain. The first diagnosis was that he had a small ulcer, but it was soon learned that he had also suffered a heart attack.

Russell replaced Lasorda as active manager June 25 and has served in that capacity the last 30 games.

Lasorda had been optimistic that he would return to the dugout as early as the week after his surgery, but he did not reappear at Dodger Stadium until July 16, when he watched a game against the San Diego Padres from owner Peter O’Malley’s private box.

Lasorda, generally regarded as the game’s premier goodwill ambassador, was given a standing ovation when he was introduced to the crowd before the game. He later said it was “better than any medicine the doctors could have given me.”

Last Friday, he announced he had been given the go-ahead by doctors to return to his job, and many expected him to be back in uniform for Tuesday night’s home game against the Florida Marlins.

However, he had privately expressed concerns about the stress that might be caused by a grueling work schedule that includes three more road trips this season.

Lasorda met with O’Malley and Fred Claire, the club’s executive vice president, last week, and another meeting took place Sunday at Dodger Stadium.

When Lasorda was stricken, the Dodgers led the National League West by two games and had a 41-35 record. Today, the team is 55-51 and in third place, a game behind San Diego and the Colorado Rockies.

Despite his 14-16 record, Russell, a former Dodger shortstop, has drawn praise from players for his aggressive managerial tactics.

Lasorda is in his 47th year with the Dodger organization, the last 20 as manager. He was named to replace Walter Alston on Sept. 29, 1976, when Alston announced his retirement after managing the team for 23 years.

Under Lasorda, the Dodgers won World Series titles in 1981 and 1988, four National League championships and seven division titles.

His record is 1,613-1,455, the most wins of any active manager. He passed Dick Williams as No. 13 on the all-time list and will move up to No. 12 over Fred Clarke if the victories since he was forced out of uniform continue to be counted on his record.

Perhaps his greatest managerial achievement was guiding the underdog Dodgers to a four-games-to-one win over the Oakland Athletics in the 1988 World Series.

With Lasorda as manager, the Dodgers have attracted 3 million fans a season to home games a record 10 times and are headed for an 11th.

He has won more renown as a motivator than as a strategist.

“I never talk about my strategy,” Lasorda has said. “You’ll never hear me say, ‘We won the game because I did this move or did that move.’ The minute I do that, I’m taking the credit. I don’t win games. Players win games.”

A native of Norristown, Pa., Lasorda pitched professionally for 14 years, most of them in the Dodger organization, but was 0-4 in his only four decisions in the major leagues with the Kansas City A’s in 1956.

He once was sent to the minors by the Dodgers to make room on the roster for a young prospect named Sandy Koufax, a future Hall of Famer and probably the greatest pitcher in Dodger history.

Lasorda rarely criticized players in front of reporters, but often was disappointed by the lack of fortitude shown by some of them.

He pitched 15 innings one night in 1948 for the Schenectady Blue Jays, striking out 25 Amsterdam batters and always expected a complete effort from the players under him.

After retiring as a player in 1960, he became a scout in the Dodger organization. From 1965 to 1972, he won five pennants in L.A.’s minor league system and managed such future Dodgers as Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Steve Yeager and Russell, who had an outstanding 18-year playing career with the team.

Lasorda was a member of Alston’s coaching staff from 1973 to ’75.

Lasorda spends the off-season making more than 100 speeches, many of them unpaid, to various groups.

In 1987, Lasorda and Sparky Anderson, former manager of the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers, were named recipients of the first Milton Richman Memorial Award by the Assn. of Professional Baseball Players of America in recognition of their careers in the game.

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True Blue

Statistical highlights of Tom Lasorda’s 20 years as Dodger manager:

Record: 1,613-1,455 (.526)

Division titles: (1977, ‘78, ‘81, ‘83, ‘85, ‘88, ‘94, ‘95)

Pennants: 4 (1977, ‘78, ‘81, ‘88)

World series titles: 2 (1981, ‘88)

Manager of the Year: 3 (1977, ‘81, ‘88)

Victories: 12th on all-time list

Games managed: 12th on all-time list

Postseason: Managed 61 postseason games, second to Casey Stengel (63).