RHAPSODY IN BLUE; COLORFUL, EMOTIONAL LASORDA INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME.

Byline: Kevin Acee Daily News Staff Writer

The first sentence wasn't out of his mouth when the cheers forced him to pause.

So it has gone for more than two decades for Tom Lasorda, the former Dodgers manager who on Sunday was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Lasorda began his acceptance speech by saying, ``Fifty-two years ago I left Norristown, Pa. . . .'' And the three busloads of folks from his hometown started hollering for their favorite son.

Many more times in his surprisingly brief, slow-starting acceptance speech, Lasorda would be interrupted by applause. For thousands of reactions like Sunday's that he received over the years, Lasorda became just the 14th manager to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

At a press conference after the induction ceremony, Lasorda went off on tangents about everything from the unjust treatment of former Dodgers general manager Al Campanis to his endorsement of the Mets' Bobby Valentine as the most-capable current manager.

But Lasorda's remarks to the assembled crowd of about 3,000 were low-key and respectful. His voice broke a few times early in his speech, but by the end he was in full story-telling Tommy mode, the volume rising with each passing minute.

He spoke of the two World Series titles and four National League pennants his teams won. He recalled the Rookies of the Year and Cy Young winners and MVPs he has managed.

``They come and go,'' he said. ``But the Hall of Fame is eternity, and I thank God for all of it.''

Lasorda called Sunday a day of thanksgiving for himself, and that's just what he did for much of the first half of his speech. He thanked his deceased parents and his wife, Jo, before doing the same to Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, the one who promoted Lasorda from third-base coach to manager on Sept. 29, 1976.

``A few months ago, a man very, very dear to my heart announced he was going to sell the baseball team,'' Lasorda said of O'Malley, who was in attendance. ``I wonder, what will baseball be like without an O'Malley there?''

Lasorda got teary-eyed as he said he was sorry Campanis, his mentor, could not be in attendance due to various health problems.

He went on to give a blanket thank-you to trainers and coaches and scouts he worked with in his 20 years as Dodgers manager. He made a passing reference to Dodgers executive vice president Fred Claire, also in the crowd, but did not thank him.

Lasorda retired from managing on July 29, 1996, five weeks after suffering a mild heart attack. He was immediately given a position as a Dodgers vice president, a job that consists mostly of public appearances. It is commonly believed Lasorda was pushed out by O'Malley and Claire, a theory that Lasorda took it upon himself to refute in the post-ceremony press conference.

Lasorda, a short-time, left-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers with a career record of 0-4, left managing having compiled a 1,599-1,439 career record. The victories are 13th-most in major-league history. He is one of four managers in history to guide the same team for at least 20 years. He managed in 61 postseason games, third-most in history.

In marked contrast to his speech in the sun, Lasorda was cantankerous in a later press conference.

He used the time to answer questions that were not asked. He denied reports he was lobbying for Claire's job with prospective owner Rupert Murdoch. He emphatically set straight how his retirement came about. He endorsed Valentine as the person he'd want to manage a team he was running. And he attempted yet again to clear Campanis' name.

Lasorda was asked about reports last week he has talked to people close to Murdoch about becoming general manager of the Dodgers should the sale to Murdoch be approved.

``I've always said if I no longer managed, I'd like to be a general manager,'' Lasorda said. ``I'm not after anybody's job. I'm not that type of person. . . . All I ever said is if the time comes and they want me, I'll be there. I'd love to work in the organization.'' He was not directly asked about how it was he quit managing.

``I was not asked to step down,'' Lasorda said. ``I stepped down on my own. . . . If they had asked me to step down, I guarantee you I wouldn't have done it.''

Asked who he would pick to manage a team he controlled, Lasorda predicted he would surprise people with his answer. The only surprise was in his frankness.

``Bobby Valentine,'' he said, naming his former pupil. ``I think he's an outstanding manager. I see what he's done with that Mets team that just about everyone thought would be losing, and he's 14 or 15 games above .500.''

Asked if he would manage the Dodgers again, say, at Murdoch's behest, Lasorda gave an answer that sounded like a no.

``That would be a real compliment to me,'' he said of any such request. ``I think (current Dodgers manager) Billy Russell does an outstanding job. I like Billy very much. I feel like they put me in the Hall of Fame because they felt I was retired.'' Asked if there were anyone besides Campanis or his parents that he would like to have had at Sunday's ceremony, Lasorda found an opportunity to support Campanis, who was fired in 1987 after making racially insensitive remarks on a national news show.

``I knew Al Campanis for 49 years,'' Lasorda said. ``I know one thing I can stake my reputation, if it's worth anything, on is the fact Al Campanis never had a prejudiced bone in his body. He never judged a player by his color, religion or race. Al Campanis did more for black players and Latin players than anyone. . . . He never should have had that happen to him.''

The press conference ramblings were as much vintage Lasorda as the story he told the induction ceremony crowd about he and former Cincinnati Reds manager John McNamara trying to out-pray each other before one Sunday game.

It all fit the opening lines of the description on Lasorda's Hall of Fame plaque:

``One of baseball's most engaging personalities and a great ambassador for his sport. Managed Dodgers with an impenetrable passion, claiming to `bleed Dodger blue.' ''

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3 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--color) Thomas Charles Lasorda's induction into baseball's hallowed shrine makes him . . . FAME_OUS 

(2--color) Sparky Anderson shares a laugh with Jo Lasorda during husband Tom Lasorda's induction speech.

(3--color) Former pitcher Phil Niekro and manager Tom Lasorda compare plaques.

Associated Press