ON TO COOPERSTOWN : LASORDA GETS NOD TO HALL.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

He was clearly exhausted. Peter O'Malley was just one of the people who tried to get him to rest.

But two hours after his election into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Tom Lasorda insisted on returning to the stadium.

``I'm going back to the game,'' he said. ``I'm going back to the fans.''

Lasorda was elected by the veterans committee in part because of his 1,599 victories and two World Series titles as Dodgers manager. The rest is due to the connection he made with fans everywhere.

``He's just a tremendous plus for baseball,'' Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza said. ``He's brought a tremendous amount of notoriety to the game. . . . He's tried to make baseball the greatest game in the world.''

Lasorda, who retired July 29 due to heart problems during the middle of his 20th season as Dodgers manager, will be inducted Aug. 3 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Lasorda, now a club vice president, received word of his election by phone in the press box at Holman Stadium during the Dodgers' spring-training game against the Montreal Expos. As he talked to members of the committee that voted him in - Ed Stack, Joe Brown, Yogi Berra and Ted Williams among them - Lasorda dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief and repeatedly said thank you.

``Thanks Ted,'' Lasorda said to Williams. ``To have you talk to me makes it that much greater.''

As he hung up the phone, Lasorda sighed and said, ``Oh boy, I don't believe this.''

Lasorda's election was announced to the crowd as Pedro Astacio was about to deliver the first pitch of the second inning. The 3,275 in attendance rose to their feet for an ovation. Both benches did the same, as players on the field removed their gloves and applauded the man who is considered by many to be baseball's greatest ambassador.

Dressed in his uniform because he was helping with the organization's minor-leaguers, Lasorda waved to the crowd for a full minute.

``I'm overwhelmed,'' Lasorda said slowly. ``I can't believe this is happening. I never realized I would get to this point. . . . All of the years. All of the good times. All of the sad times. Today you forget everything but what is happening. I've always had respect and admiration for Hall of Famers. But, by golly, I never thought I'd be in the Hall of Fame.''

The committee also voted in former Chicago White Sox second baseman Nellie Fox and former Negro Leaguer Willie Wells Sr.

Lasorda is the 14th Hall of Famer to be elected as a manager. One of the others is Walter Alston, Lasorda's predecessor who retired in 1976.

Lasorda is one of just three living Hall of Fame managers, along with Earl Weaver and Al Lopez. He is the 52nd Hall of Famer associated with the Dodgers and the 15th to be inducted as a Dodger.

In three major-league seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics, Lasorda compiled an 0-4 record with a 6.52 ERA in just 58 innings as a pitcher. His final year of professional baseball was in the minors in 1960. He then began working his way up the Dodgers coaching ranks. He was a minor-league coach, a scout and minor-league manager. On Sept. 29, 1976, he was promoted from third-base coach to manager by team president Peter O'Malley.

``Being elected to the Hall of Fame is the ultimate,'' O'Malley said Wednesday. ``. . . This is a very proud moment for all of us in the organization.''

After a press conference, Lasorda was taken to the street in front of the Dodgertown entrance. As of Wednesday, the road is called Tommy Lasorda Lane. It intersects Jackie Robinson Avenue.

``When you want to meet someone here, tell them to meet you at Jackie Robinson and Tommy Lasorda Lane,'' Lasorda said as he climbed on a ladder to hang the street sign.

Lasorda left the Dodgers the first time in June, after being admitted to the hospital complaining of chest pain. He underwent an angioplasty on June 26. After retiring, Lasorda underwent another angioplasty to unclog his distal right coronary artery on Oct. 4.

``I'm happy for him,'' said Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros. ``With what he's gone through the past year, with the roller-coaster of not being able to manage, with his health. And now he feels good. This is something that means a lot to him.''

There was speculation the past week that the veterans committee would not vote Lasorda in because of the perception he wanted to manage again. While in Japan last week, Lasorda called some reporters and got the word out he was not interested in managing again. It was a message he repeated Wednesday before the announcement.

``I never solicited a job at all,'' he said. ``I never told anyone I wanted to manage again. Someone asked me if I think about managing. I said, `Yeah I think about it every day.' Thinking about it and wanting to do it is another thing.

``I'll be 70 years old in September. I left the best job in baseball.''

Joe Brown, a former Pittsburgh Pirates general manager and the committee chairman, said Lasorda un-retiring ceased to be a concern after speaking with him.

``We told him that if he managed again, we'd tear down the statue,'' Brown said.

``It's a good exclamation point to a good career,'' said Dodgers pitcher Todd Worrell. ``Tommy, in a real bad way, needs something that brings closure to everything. Maybe this is it for him. We all know what he'd want. He'd manage until he dropped dead in the dugout if somebody would let him. That's the truth.''

TOMMY'S HIGHLIGHTS

Sept. 29, 1976: Named manager of the Dodgers, replacing Walter Alston, who had manager the club for 23 years.

Oct. 27, 1981: Won his first World Series title 4-2 over the New York Yankees after falling behind 0-2 in the series.

Aug. 21, 1988: Won his 1,000th game as manager.

Oct. 20, 1988: Won his second World Series title 4-1 over the heavily favored Oakland A's.

July 26, 1989: Managed his 2,000th game.

Aug. 17, 1992: Managed his 2,500th game.

June 7, 1995: Won his 1,500th game as manager.

July 29, 1996: Retires as manager of the Dodgers with a career record of 1,599-1,439-2. His 3,040 games managed rank him 12th on the all-time list, and the 1,599 wins rank him 13th on the all-time list.

BY THE NUMBERS

8: Number of Western Division titles, four National League pennants and two World Series championships in his 20-year tenure.

9: Number of Rookies of the Year who played for him, more than any manager in history.

0: Number of games won as a pitchers. He pitched in 26 games (58 innings) in three major-league seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics, compiling an 0-4 record and 6.52 ERA.

210: Number of managerial changes around the majors during his 20 years.

1,599: Career victories are 13th-most by a major-league manager.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: (color) Tom Lasorda puts up a street sign dedicated in his honor Wednesday in Vero Beach, Fla.

Jon Soohoo / L.A. Dodgers

Box: TOMMY'S HIGHLIGHTS (see text)