Lasorda Has Never Been Retiring Type

You can squelch all the speculation and rumors right now, the Lasorda family insists.

If you think Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda’s mild heart attack and ulcer may prompt him into early retirement, the Lasorda family says to forget it: Lasorda is not planning to retire now.

Lasorda is not planning to retire at the season’s conclusion.

Lasorda will not retire until he’s good and ready, or at least forced out.

“You kidding me, why would Tommy ever retire?” said Harry Lasorda, one of Tom’s younger brothers, who runs the family restaurant in their hometown of Norristown, Pa. “If he had his choice, he’d die right there on that baseball field.

“My brother retire? Forget it.”

Lasorda, 68, who the Dodgers say will not be released from Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood for a few days, has told family members he wants to return to his job within a week. He’d love to return Monday when the Dodgers play a three-game series at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium but, realistically, has set his sights on Thursday when the Dodgers return home against the Colorado Rockies.

Lasorda, who was transferred from intensive care to a private room Thursday, wasn’t available for comment.

“Tommy isn’t one to sit around the house, you know that,” Harry Lasorda said. “That’s why you’re not going to see him retire. If he was the type to go fishing and golfing, yeah, but he doesn’t have any hobbies.

“Even when he’s done managing, he’ll find something else in baseball to do. He’s not going to be sitting home, I guarantee you that.

“Maybe the good from all this is that he’ll change his diet and live a healthy life. He won’t slow down, but he got a pretty good warning, he’ll change his eating habits.”

Lasorda was hospitalized Monday with abdominal pain, originally diagnosed as an ulcer. Subsequent tests revealed that he had suffered a mild heart attack, and he underwent angioplasty surgery Wednesday to clear a 75% blocked artery.

“I noticed last week for sure, he had slowed down,” interim Manager Bill Russell said of Lasorda. “He just seemed more tired. He told me he was going to sleep tired and waking up tired.

“For him to go in [to the hospital], it had to be something big. It had to be something more than a stomach ache.”

Jo Lasorda, the manager’s wife, considered the discovery of the heart problem a miracle.

“I’m so thankful I can’t even tell you,”’ she said. “If he hadn’t gone in for an ulcer, who knows? Now, he’ll be healthier than ever.”

Lasorda, who will turn 69 in September, has won more games in his 20-year career than any active manager in baseball and has led the Dodgers to seven National League West titles, four National League pennants and two World Series.

Still, he has told friends and family members he would love to manage four more years, surpassing Walter Alston’s record of 23 years as Dodger manager.

“He never even talks about retiring,” Jo Lasorda said. “I wouldn’t mind him going on as long as he can. Besides, I don’t know anyone who can replace him and do what he does.”

Lasorda has told family members he will have knee replacement surgery on both of his knees this off-season. The anti-inflammatory medication contributed to his ulcer, Harry Lasorda said, damaging the lining in his stomach.

There is no family history of heart problems.

“Tommy will be just fine,” Harry Lasorda said. “I talked to him [Wednesday night], and sounded a little weak, but he was happy. His biggest concern was making sure he could get the game on ESPN.

“I hope he takes a little time getting back. I told him there’s no hurry. The All-Star break is coming up, anyway. And I know he’s still planning to go to the game [as a National League coach].

“But you watch, he’ll be itching to get back next week. And he’s going to keep on managing as long as they let him.”