| La Russa Retires a Champion |
| By Sally Haase Novemeber 2, 2011 Just a few days after winning his third World Series title, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced that he has managed his final season in Major League Baseball. La Russa called a team meeting after the Cardinals victory parade to announce to the team that he would retire. La Russa is the first manager to retire immediately after leading his team to a World Series title. La Russa said the retirement felt like it was the right time and that he didn’t want to return for the wrong reasons. He actually made his decision back in August, before the Cardinals erased a 10 and a half game deficit to win the wild card on the final day of the regular season. The decision was kept secret from the players who were shocked to hear La Russa announce his retirement. La Russa managed for 33 seasons for three teams, the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Althletics, and the Cardinals. His career record is 2,782 - 2, 365. La Russa is third on the all time list of wins for a manager and is second to only Joe Torre in post season wins with 70. Always calm in the dugout, La Russa is a steady hand who gets the best out of his players, he is a real student of the game and treats the management of the game like a chess match. He is always looking three or four moves ahead when he makes a move with the lineup. Eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2013, the same year as Bobby Cox and Torre it is not certain that La Russa will be a first ballot member of the Hall of Fame but he should be. La Russa has always carried himself with class and has earned the respect of peers and fans and will retire a World Series champion. Enjoy your retirement Mr. La Russa, you deserve it. |
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