Tony La Russa

Anthony La Russa, Jr. (born October 4, 1944, in Tampa, Florida) is a manager in Major League Baseball, currently with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is one of six managers in history to win pennants with both American and National League teams. He is ranked third all-time for total number of career wins, trailing only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763). He is one of only two managers to be named Manager of the Year in both of baseball's major leagues.

Managerial career

Before becoming a manager, he earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Florida State University, but never entered the legal profession. La Russa has been quoted as saying, "I decided I'd rather ride the buses in the minor leagues than practice law for a living." He is the fifth major league manager in baseball history to have earned a law degree. The other four are Monte Ward (New York Giants, Brooklyn and Providence, late 1800s), Hughie Jennings (Detroit, 1907-20, New York Giants, 1924), Miller Huggins (St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees, 1913-29) and Branch Rickey (St. Louis Browns, 1913-15, St. Louis Cardinals, 1919-25, later the creator of the modern farm system in baseball and still later the executive who broke the color line by signing Jackie Robinson). All of La Russa's attorney-manager predecessors are in the Hall of Fame—Ward as a player, Jennings and Huggins as managers, and Rickey for his accomplishments as an executive.

Related Topics:
Juris Doctor - J.D. - Florida State University - Monte Ward - Hughie Jennings - Miller Huggins - Branch Rickey - Color line - Jackie Robinson - Hall of Fame

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The White Sox hired La Russa as their manager two-thirds of the way through the 1979 season. He was named American League Manager of the Year in 1983, when his club won the AL West but fell to the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Championship Series. The White Sox fired La Russa after the club got off to a 26-38 start in 1986.

Related Topics:
1979 - 1983 - Baltimore Orioles - American League Championship Series - 1986

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La Russa had a vacation of less than three weeks before his old club, the Athletics, called him to take over as manager. With the A's, he led the club to three consecutive World Series, from 1988 to 1990, sweeping an earthquake-delayed series from the San Francisco Giants in 1989. In 1988and 1990, La Russa's Athletics lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds in significant fashion despite the fact that the A's were heavily favored on both occasions. He earned two additional Manager of the Year awards with the A's, in 1988 and 1992.

Related Topics:
World Series - 1988 - 1990 - Earthquake - Series - San Francisco Giants - 1989 - 1988 - 1990 - Los Angeles Dodgers - Cincinnati Reds - 1992

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After the 1995 season, in which the A's finished 67-77, the Haas family, with whom La Russa had a close personal relationship, sold the team after the death of patriarch Walter Haas Sr. La Russa left to take over the helm of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team promptly won the National League's Central Division crown in 1996, a feat his club repeated in 2000, 2001, and 2002 (his fourth Manager of the Year award). La Russa's fourth Manager of the Year award was arguably the most emotional. La Russa led the Cardinals to the National League Championship Series (where they would ultimately lose in five games to the San Francisco Giants) in a year in which the Cardinals were traumatized by the deaths beloved, Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck and 33 year old pitcher Darryl Kile just four days later.

Related Topics:
1995 - 1996 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - Hall of Fame - Jack Buck - Darryl Kile

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However, it was not until 2004 that the Cardinals finally won the National League pennant under La Russa. The team had the best record in the majors at 105-57, and defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 games to 1, in the National League Division Series, and the Houston Astros, 4 games to 3, in the 2004 National League Championship Series. That put the club in the 2004 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, the Cards' first Series appearance since 1987. However, they were swept by the Red Sox, losing four games to none.

Related Topics:
2004 - Los Angeles Dodgers - National League Division Series - Houston Astros - 2004 National League Championship Series - 2004 World Series - Boston Red Sox - 1987

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As of 2004, La Russa's regular season managerial record is 2114-1846 (.534), including 794-663 (.545) with the Cardinals. He credits Paul Richards with first inspiring him to believe he could succeed as a major league manager.

Related Topics:
As of 2004 - Paul Richards

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It was as a player with the A's that La Russa first met catcher Dave Duncan, who would join his coaching staff in Chicago in 1983. The two have worked together on every La Russa-managed team ever since, and he often credits Duncan as playing a key role in his success.

Related Topics:
Dave Duncan - 1983

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