A DREAM COMES TRUE IN COOPERSTOWN; TOM LASORDA, LEGENDARY DODGERS MANAGER, INDUCTED INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME.Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer Saying his life is a dream, former Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on a pleasant summer Sunday in upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457. Were it an independent state, it would be ranked 13th by population. . ``This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my lifetime,'' the 69-year-old Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers for 20 years before retiring July 29, 1996 because of heart troubles, said just before finishing his brief acceptance speech and receiving a second standing ovation. Lasorda was inducted along with former knuckleball pitcher Phil Niekro A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, and was a boyhood friend of future , former Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The White Sox are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the White Sox have played in U.S. second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Nellie Fox Wells was born in Austin, Texas. , former Indians broadcaster Jimmy Dudley James R. Dudley (September 27 1909 - February 12 1999) was an American sportscaster, best known as the play-by-play voice of Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians for nearly two decades. and longtime sportswriter sports·writ·er n. A person who writes about sports, especially for a newspaper or magazine. sports Charley Feeney. Lasorda, who grew up a Yankees fan in Pennsylvania, said that as a boy he would have vivid dreams about pitching for his favorite team. He recalled how his mother would shake him awake with the words, ``Wake up, Tommy. It's time to go to school.'' Lasorda, who kept his famous storytelling to a minimum Sunday, closed his remarks by saying, ``I feel it won't be too long before my mom is shaking me again, saying, `Tommy, wake up.' I am living a dream. Thank you.'' With that, he became just the 14th manager enshrined in the Hall of Fame. His teams were, indeed, successful. Lasorda's career record of 1,599-1,439 features the 13th-greatest victory total for a manager in major-league history. His Dodgers teams went to four World Series, winning in 1981 and '88. Eight times, his team won the National League West. He managed in more postseason games (61) than anyone but Bobby Cox and Casey Stengel. But it was mostly for the goodwill he spread that Lasorda was rewarded with the induction. A short-lived career as a left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers produced an 0-4 record. But his flamboyant managerial style, his love for his players and his way with fans made him the most recognizable man in baseball. The description on Lasorda's Hall of Fame plaque sums up the reason Lasorda was elected to the Hall by the Veterans Committee in his first year of eligibility. ``One of baseball's most endearing personalities and a great ambassador for his sport,'' it begins. ``Managed Dodgers with an impenetrable passion, claiming to `bleed Dodger blue.' '' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color) ``I am living a dream,'' Tom Lasorda said at Sunday's ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. Associated Press |
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