Tommy Lasorda-Led 2000 Olympic Gold Medal Baseball Victory 20 Years Out

Tommy Lasorda-Led 2000 Olympic Gold Medal Baseball Victory 20 Years Out

One could argue that the greatest American Summer Olympic underdog team and individual gold medal victories occurred on the same night. It was 20 years ago, on September 27, 2000 in Sydney, Australia, when the USA Baseball Olympic Team, managed by Hall of Famer and two-time Dodgers World Series Champion Tommy Lasorda, shocked the mighty Cuban team, 4-0. Unheralded Greco-Roman wrestler Rulon Gardner from Wyoming, pinned the undefeated-in-his-lifetime Aleksander Karelin from Russia less than a mile from the baseball stadium at the Sydney Olympic Sports Complex on that Wednesday night, during what would have been the early morning hours of a random weekday in the United States.

It was not exactly a prime-time television viewing experience back home in America. Both stunning events slipped under the radar of NBC’s live television coverage and the internet streaming options that were rarely used at the time, prior to the invention of the iPhone. But the entire story -- from the beginning in 1999 when USA Baseball organized a professional Olympic qualifying team for the Pan Am games in Canada, to the final pitch and celebration in Sydney -- is chronicled in my book “Miracle on Grass.”

Award-Winning Hollywood Movie Producer Ted Collins recently optioned the book and is currently writing an adapted screenplay based on it. Collins is a lifelong baseball fan and believes in the inspirational potential of the story, and the potential of Lasorda as a featured character.

“During these trying times, it’s imperative that this true underdog story be re-told on a grand scale,” said Collins. “Not enough people know about this incredible sports moment in American history and the heroes involved. It is an honor to be the filmmaker responsible for making this happen, and hopefully our film will unite Americans with pride.”

This month USA Baseball has been celebrating the 20-year anniversary of gold medal game, and Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler recently hosted a Zoom call with players, coaches and staff as a mini-reunion. The group hopes to get together in person whenever travel limitations are lifted and it’s safe to do so. Lasorda, now 93 years old, joined the call from his living room in Fullerton, California. He was happy to see the faces of some of the gold medalists that gave him what he calls “one of the greatest moments of my life."

“The 2000 Olympic Gold Medal Team undoubtedly set the standard of excellence for this organization and has been the example for how we have been trying to structure the teams we field for the last 20 years,” said Seiler. The model has worked, as USA Baseball has won a total of 50 gold medals in international play since 2000 -- an average of 2.5 per year. “For most countries, if they win one gold medal every couple of years, that is an accomplishment for them. The legacy of the 2000 Olympic Team continues to grow with every gold medal Team USA brings home.”

On the Zoom call, the group had a chance to catch up, and to share what that Olympic Gold Medal has ended up meaning to them in their lives. The conversation and laughter had a family feel to it, and the memories came flooding back, almost as if they occurred the day before.

Back in 2000, Sandy Alderson was a Major League Baseball executive and served as defacto Team USA general manager, guiding the staff of scouts and league personnel in selecting the team. He later went on the serve as the GM of the New York Mets from 2012-18, and he is currently a Special Assistant with the Oakland A’s, where he was general manager from 1981 to 1997.

“The way we structured that Team USA roster in 2000, it was really the dawn of the analytical approach that is widely used all across Major League Baseball,” said Alderson. “We had to select players based off data we were collecting during the minor-league season, and go off what we thought players could do in a two-week tournament. Being a part of that group and that experience for me, it ranks right next to winning the World Series with Oakland in 1989.”

The 24 American baseball players were mostly unknown minor leaguers at the time. A few of them had a cup of coffee in the big leagues, but Team USA did bring along veteran catcher Pat Borders, who had put together the seven-game stretch of his life to win the 1992 World Series MVP award with the Toronto Blue Jays. Lasorda had never met any of them when the team gathered in San Diego for a workout, prior to boarding the flight to Australia.

Lasorda’s locker room strategy from the start was to instill the belief in his team that they were going to win gold, even if he had never actually seen them play He told the team, his coaches, the media and everyone in Sydney that Team USA was going to beat Cuba. That confidence and swagger worked wonders for the Americans, as they won every game in pool play, except for their first try against Cuba.

But in the semifinal game, Minnesota Twins farmhand Doug Mientkiewicz belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give Team USA a dramatic 3-2 victory over Korea to earn another shot at the Cubans -- this time for the gold medal.

At lunch on the day of the final game, Lasorda sat with the young man he intended to give the ball to that night, to face two-time defending Olympic champions -- Milwaukee Brewers prospect Ben Sheets, from St. Amant, Louisiana. Lasorda told Sheets: “Ben, I don’t care what you ever do in the major leagues. This game tonight will be the biggest game that you will ever pitch in your life.” Sheets replied with “who are we playing?”

Alderson, along with assistants Bill Bavasi and Bob Watson,  made all the right moves, including a phone call with Brewers' GM Dean Taylor to convince him to allow Sheets to be on the team. Taylor agreed, but with the condition that Sheets be limited to 75 pitches in each start. When Watson yelled down to Lasorda in the gold medal game, to remind him that Sheets was approaching the 75-pitch limit, Tommy replied: “Sit down, Bob. I’m not taking Sheets out of this game, even if God tells me to!” Lasorda ended up as an invited guest at Sheets’ wedding in Louisiana three months later.

The right-hander with the southern drawl went out and twirled a complete game three-hitter and didn’t allow a runner to advance past second base. Outfielder Mike Neill belted a solo home run in the first inning to give Sheets a lead, and he never looked back.

In celebration of 2000 Olympic team, USA Baseball has created a commemorative 20th Anniversary patch that will be placed on some items for sale in the organization’s online merchandise store. In addition, they’ve promoting the personal memories of team players, coaches and staff on their social media channels. Fans can also make a donation to the #GiveForGlory campaign, and view a patriotic video featuring the “USA Jersey."

The #GiveForGlory campaign supports our national pastime’s future, helps to grow amateur baseball throughout the United States by building champions in baseball and in life, and helps insure that the Team USA spirit thrives for many years and gold medals to come. Your support is critical for USA Baseball to reach its full potential and enhance the experience for current and future USA Baseball athletes. 

David Fanucchi served as Press Officer for the 2000 USA Baseball Olympic Team that captured a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. His book "Miracle on Grass -- How Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda Led Team USA to a Shocking Upset Over Cuba, Capturing the only Olympic Gold Medal in USA Baseball History" -- is available on Amazon. He is currently a high school Journalism teacher in Houston, Texas.