CARY, N.C. – USA Baseball Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler released the following statement mourning the loss of Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda. Lasorda led Team USA to the gold medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, defeating two-time defending gold medalist Cuba 4-0 in the championship game.
"Words cannot begin to express the profound loss we feel with the passing of Tommy Lasorda. His achievements on the baseball field are legendary but his legacy will forever exceed his baseball accomplishments. His patriotism was inspiring and the people who were fortunate enough to meet and learn from him will forever carry on his passion and goodwill for international baseball and our country. He is the epitome of a titan in our game and USA Baseball will forever honor his memory.
"We are thankful that we were able to reconnect Tommy with his Olympic players and staff as we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the gold medal victory in the Sydney Olympic Games in September."
Lasorda was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997 following a career that included four National League pennants and two World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was named the manager of the USA Baseball Sydney 2000 Olympic Games baseball team and led the U.S. to its second gold medal in Olympic Games history (Seoul 1988 Olympic Games).
His ties to USA Baseball ran deeper than the jersey. Lasorda maintained a close relationship with the late Rod Dedeaux, a fellow USA Baseball Olympic Team manager (Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games), and remained active with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the longtime partner with USA Baseball. He also spoke with USA Baseball’s national teams and its athletes on numerous occasions, spreading his love of country and his passion for American baseball on the international stage.
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