One of baseball’s most successful managers, Tony La Russa of Tampa, Florida, is retiring at the age of 77. La Russa had spent the last two seasons as the manager of the Chicago White Sox, but has not managed Chicago’s south side team because of an issue with his pacemaker, which was giving him some genuine health issues.
Managerial Record
La Russa has a career record of 2901 wins and 2514 losses for a winning percentage of .536. He was with the White Sox initially from 1979 to 1986, the Oakland Athletics from 1986 to 1995, and the Cardinals from 1996 to 2011. When La Russa returned to managing in 2021 with the White Sox, he had not managed a Major League Baseball game for a full decade.
Three-time World Series champion
On three occasions, La Russa was able to win the World Series. He was victorious with the Athletics in 1989, and the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011. In 1989, the Athletics swept the San Francisco Giants in four games, as La Russa got the better of Giants manager Roger Craig. The World Series is best known as the Earthquake Series because the famous San Francisco earthquake occurred right before game three. The Cardinals won the 2006 World Series in five games over the Detroit Tigers and then 2011 World Series in seven games over the Texas Rangers.
Other Accolades
La Russa is second all-time in wins for a manager in Major League Baseball history. The leader is Connie Mack of East Brookfield, Massachusetts, who won a remarkable 3731 games from 1894 to 1950 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Athletics. La Russa was also named the American League Manager of the Year with the White Sox in 1983 and with the Oakland Athletics in 1988 and 1992. Then in 2002, La Russa was named the National League Manager of the Year in 2002. In fact, La Russa and Bobby Cox of Tulsa, Oklahoma have won he most Manager of the Year awards, as they have four each. In 2014, La Russa was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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