CHICAGO — At 76, Tony La Russa still has the energy to patrol the outfield during batting practice before every game. Fungo bat in hand, he stops to visit with his players, just as he did with the A’s more than a quarter-century ago.
La Russa still has the fire, too, to go nose-to-nose with an opposing player. When White Sox slugger Jose Abreu was hit by a pitch July 30 against Cleveland, La Russa got in the face of Indians catcher Roberto Perez,
There are signs of him softening, though. Or maybe it is an attempt to bridge the generations-gap when he occasionally turns his cap around, wears it backwards like the kids, during those batting practice tours of the outfield.
Winning has always brought out the best in La Russa, and he is winning big. The White Sox, who host the A’s for a four-game series starting Monday, are 68-50 and running away with American League Central despite injuries that have limited star outfielders Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez to 43 games between them.
“What kills me is that as many games as he’s been part of and has won, how nervous he is before every game and before every pitch,” said Sox third base coach Joe McEwing, who played for La Russa in St. Louis.
“He hangs on every pitch because he knows how important each pitch is and how it can change a game. It doesn’t matter what the lead is or how far we’re behind. He’s so locked in on every pitch.”
La Russa’s return to the dugout after a nine-year hiatus was met with ridicule and scorn when it was announced Oct. 29. The outcry grew louder days later when news broke that La Russa had been charged with driving under the influence, his second offense, after a one-car accident in February 2020.
Still, the White Sox hired him, making him the third-oldest manager in MLB history. Only Connie Mack (87) and Jack McKeon (80) managed later in life.
La Russa had retired in 2011 after winning the World Series, his third, with the Cardinals. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014. He stayed in the game as an executive with Major League Baseball, the Diamondbacks, Red Sox and Angels, but said he felt “tortured” by watching games from a suite without a chance to make an impact.
“My heart always was in the dugout,” said La Russa, who expected offers to manage but didn’t plan to accept any.
That was until the Sox called to measure his interest after the firing of Rick Renteria following a frustrating loss to the Athletics in the first round of the 2020 American League playoffs. Several sources from his Oakland days sensed La Russa was all-in after talking to them and measuring his passion to return.
“It was a combination of looking forward to getting back down there and checking myself, to have the energy, and the White Sox making the call with a chance to win sooner rather than later,” La Russa said on the day his hiring was announced.
The criticism of his hiring peaked again in May when La Russa had to admit he didn’t know a rule governing extra-inning play. He left pitcher Liam Hendricks as the second-base runner when he could have subbed, and the Sox lost 1-0.
“Now I know,” La Russa said after the game.
Two weeks later, he ripped one of his own players, Yermin Mercedes, for hitting a home run on a 3-0 pitch he was supposed to take with the Sox leading 15-4 in the ninth inning. That fueled a furry of criticism ranging from his own players to ex-stars such as CC Sabathia, who questioned whether La Russa should manage.
But winning beats all.
The rash of injuries has enabled La Russa deploy the skills of journeymen like Billy Hamilton and Brian Goodwin, and rookies Andrew Vaughn, Seby Zavala and Sheets in a manner similar to how he employed Tony Phillips and Mike Gallego in Oakland and Aaron Myles, Skip Schumaker and Miguel Cairo in St. Louis.
“The thing that you learn is that you can create versatility,” said La Russa, who has employed Vaughn, who was drafted in 2019 as a first baseman out of Cal, in left field, third base and right field.
Vaughn, 23, became acclimated to La Russa’s methods during a fireside chat with the Cal baseball team prior to his freshman season.
“I remember it being very special,” Vaughn recalled. “He always talked about being a gamer.”
La Russa and his players have embraced each other after special moments and emotional victories. When Gavin Sheets, a 25-year-old rookie hit a three-run walkoff July 19, La Russa gave the kid a hug previously reserved for World Series celebrations.
“Well, you just got to watch closely,” La Russa told a reporter surprised by his gesture. “That’s what family does.”
The next-best thing to winning is being right. Months before his hiring, La Russa had said in casual conversation that he would be successful managing in today’s game because the reliance on analytics had overtaken common sense.
It was not a new refrain. But this has been a new chance for La Russa to prove his point.
“It’s so sophisticated and definitely helps your preparation,” said La Russa, who was at the forefront of the analytics movement in the mid-1980s both with Chicago and the A’s. “But I think there’s a healthy respect from this organization that once this game starts, you got to eyeball everything.
“You still have to have guys strong enough and tough enough to deal with how to be productive. And I think you can’t play percentages once the game starts.
“So those people who want to say an RBI guy is not important or it’s not important to put the ball in play, watch the game. Put the ball in play, and you have a chance to win.”