Anthony La Russa Jr. famed as Tony La Russa is an American professional baseball manager for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Moreover, he is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics, as well as a former player. In 33 years as a manager, he guided his teams to three World Series titles, six league championships, and 12 division titles. As a player, he made his major league debut in 1963 and spent parts of five major league seasons with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs. He was named manager of the White Sox in the middle of the 1979 season and guided the White Sox to an American League West division title four seasons later. He also led the A’s to three consecutive American League championships from 1988 to 1990 and the 1989 World Series title. He left Oakland following the 1995 season to manage the Cardinals and led the team to three National League championships and the 2006 and 2011 World Series titles. He then retired after winning the 2011 title and 34 seasons as a major league manager. In the 2021 offseason, he was named the manager of the Chicago White Sox after the firing of Rick Renteria. He ranks third in major league history in victories as a manager (2,728), trailing only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763). He is the winningest manager in St. Louis Cardinals history, with 1,408 wins and 1,182 losses (.544) and 1 tie, managing the Cardinals from 1996 to 2011. He had been the longest-tenured bench boss among all the Big Four sports leagues, until his retirement following his 2011 World Series victory with the Cardinals.
White Sox hire Tony La Russa as new manager
The Chicago White Sox have hired Tony La Russa to be their next manager. Tony La Russa, the Hall of Famer who won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics and two more with the St. Louis Cardinals, is returning to manage the Chicago White Sox-34 years after they fired him. The team made the announcement on Thursday (29th October 2020) afternoon. La Russa, 76, hasn’t managed since winning the 2011 World Series with the Cardinals. He jumps past Astros skipper Dusty Baker (age 71) for the title of the oldest manager in baseball. The oldest manager in MLB history was Connie Mack, who worked until he was 87. “His hiring is not based on friendship or on what happened years ago, but on the fact that we have the opportunity to have one of the greatest managers in the game’s history in our dugout at a time when we believe our team is poised for great accomplishments,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. “We are extremely excited about the future of this team,” general manager Rick Hahn said Thursday. “As we showed in 2020, this is a young, talented club that we expect to only grow better and better in the coming years. Adding in a Hall of Fame manager who is recognized as being one of the best in the history of the game, we are a step closer to our goal of bringing White Sox fans another championship.”
Known For
Being a baseball player, manager, and executive with the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball.
Having managed the St. Louis Cardinals and the Oakland Athletics in the past.
In 2014, he was inducted as a player into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and in 1998, he was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
What is Tony La Russa’s birthplace?
Tony La Russa was born Anthony La Russa Jr. on October 4, 1944, in Tampa, Florida, United States. He grew up in the nearby Ybor City, Florida, where his parents met while both working in a cigar factory. Tony La Russa and his family grew up in West Tampa, Florida, where he played American Legion and PONY League baseball with teammate Lou Piniella. He is of mixed race and has an American nationality. He is of Italian and Spanish descent and speaks the language fluently. His father’s family came from the Italian island of Sicily, and his mother’s family came from Spain. La Russa said in a 2008 interview that “Spanish was my first language” because he had a father who could speak Spanish and Italian and a mother who could speak Spanish. He was born to Anthony La Russa Sr. (father) and Oliva La Russa (mother) (mother). Eva Fojaco, his girlfriend, is also his sibling. In the year 2019, he turned 76 years old. His zodiac sign is Libra, and he is a Christian. La Russa was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics as a middle infielder in June 1962, after graduating from Jefferson High School in Tampa, with a clause to pay for his college education. In 1969, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management from the University of South Florida. In 1978, he received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Florida State University College of Law.
How did Tony La Russa get his start in baseball?
Tony made his major league debut on May 10, 1963, after 76 games with the A’s affiliates Binghamton Triplets and Daytona Beach Islanders during the 1962 season.
His signing as a “bonus kid” allowed him to spend the entire 1963 season in the majors.
Later, while playing softball with friends in the off-season, he injured his shoulder and only played 34 games in 1963.
For the next six seasons, he spent the majority of his time in the minor leagues.
He spent the entire 1970 season with the A’s before being traded to the Atlanta Braves late in 1971.
On April 6, 1973, he played as a pinch-runner for the Chicago Cubs and scored the game-winning walk-off run.
He also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals organizations.
He appeared in 132 major-league games, including 40 in the starting lineup, where he went 35-for-176 for a.199 batting average.
He played 63 times at second base, 18 times at shortstop, and two times at third base, fielding.960 in 249 total chances and contributing to 34 double plays.
How did Tony La Russa’s managerial career go?
The White Sox named him manager of their Double-A affiliate, the Knoxville Sox of the Southern League, in 1978, giving him his first managerial opportunity. Loren Babe and Paul Richards of the White Sox are credited with assisting him in becoming a manager.
After a half-season at Knoxville, he was promoted to the White Sox coaching staff when owner Bill Veeck replaced Bob Lemon as manager with Larry Doby.
He later became the manager of the American Association’s Triple-A Iowa Oaks, deciding to manage in the minors after the White Sox offered him the same major league coaching role.
At the age of 34, he became the major leagues’ youngest manager.
In 1983, he was elected American League Manager of the Year after his team won the AL West but lost in the American League Championship Series to the Baltimore Orioles.
After the White Sox began the 1986 season with a 26-38 record, he was fired.
He had a regular-season record of 522-510 and a playoff record of 1-3 for the White Sox.
From 1988 to 1990, he led the Oakland Athletics to three consecutive American League Pennants and World Series appearances.
With the A’s, he received two American League Manager of the Year awards in 1988 and 1992, making him a total of three AL awards.
With Oakland, he had a regular-season record of 798-673 and a playoff record of 19-13.
He quit Oakland in the off-season to take over as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals after Joe Torre was fired.
He won the National League Central Division title (and finished second in the National League) in his first season with the Cardinals in 1996, a feat his clubs repeated in 2000, 2001, 2002 (his fourth Manager of the Year award), 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2009. He became the first manager in the history of the award to win it four times.
In a year marred by the deaths of beloved Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck and 33-year-old pitcher Darryl Kile just four days later, he led the Cardinals to the National League Championship Series.
The Cardinals won the National League Division Series 3 games to 1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and then faced the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series.
He wore number 10 when he arrived in St. Louis to reflect the team’s quest for their 10th championship and to pay tribute to Anderson, who wore number 10 when managing the Cincinnati Reds.
After beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS (3-2) and the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, he led the Cardinals to the 2011 World Series (4-2).
In Game 7 of the World Series, the Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers to win the franchise’s 11th World Championship and the third of his managerial career.
He declared his retirement three days after the World Series victory, finishing second all-time in postseason wins with 70, third all-time with 2,728 regular-season wins, second with 5,097 games handled, and second with 33 years (tied with John McGraw) as a manager.
He finished his Cardinals career with a regular-season record of 1408-1182 and a postseason record of 50-42.
He was also the first manager in Major League Baseball history to retire since winning the World Series in the same season.
For the last time in his managerial career, he managed the National League All-Stars in the 2012 MLB All-Star Game, which the National League won 8-0.
The White Sox announced that La Russa would return from retirement to take over as manager, replacing Rick Renteria. On the 29th of October 2020, it was revealed.
At the age of 76, he became the MLB’s oldest manager. After being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, he became the first manager in baseball history to return to the field.
However, the White Sox are said to have violated the ‘Selig Law’ by only interviewing one minority candidate.
What was Tony La Russa’s executive career like?
Following his retirement, he took a job with Major League Baseball, assisting former manager Joe Torre in matters of on-field discipline, which he kept for several seasons.
On May 17, 2014, he accepted a job as Chief Baseball Officer for the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he will be in charge of the entire baseball operations department.
On December 4, 2015, the Diamondbacks agreed to a six-year deal worth a total of $206.5 million with free agent starter Zack Greinke, which had the highest annual average value in MLB, hitting $34.4 million per year, which was also the largest contract by total value in team history.
Following a poor 93-loss season in 2016, which resulted in the firings of General Manager Dave Stewart and manager Chip Hale, he was demoted to Chief Baseball Analyst/Advisor with the Diamondbacks. In the 2017 season, he resigned.
In November 2017, the Boston Red Sox revealed that he had joined the team as vice president and special assistant to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
After two seasons with the Red Sox, Dombrowski was hired by the Los Angeles Angels as senior advisor for baseball operations in November 2019, after the Red Sox released him during the 2019 season.
Furthermore,
In 1980, he appeared as the topic of a round of “To Tell The Truth” hosted by Robin Ward.
In the year 2012, he published “One Last Strike,” a New York Times bestselling memoir.
He also created the AI for “Tony La Russa Baseball,” a series of popular video games (1991-1997). The games won numerous awards and featured “new” statistics developed in collaboration with La Russa (and provided by influential sabermetrics writers John Thorn and Pete Palmer) as management resources for players.
Tony La Russa’s Awards and Achievements
- 3× World Series champion (1989, 2006, 2011)
- 4× Manager of the Year (1983, 1988, 1992, 2002)
- St. Louis Cardinals No. 10 retired
- Athletics Hall of Fame
- St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame
Who is Tony La Russa married to?
Tony La Russa is a married man. He has been married twice until now. He was married to his first wife, Luzette Sarcone whereas the duo divorced in the year 1973. The duo was also blessed with two daughters named Andrea and Averie whom Sarcone received their full custody after their divorce. After their separation, he married his second wife, Elaine. The married couple is the founders of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, which saves abandoned and injured animals as well as running programs to bring dogs and cats to abused children, hospital patients, seniors, and shut-ins. The married couple is also blessed with two kids; daughters named Bianca and Devon. As of today, the duo is residing in Alamo, California. His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay.
How much is Tony La Russa’s Net Worth and Salary?
Tony La Russa is an American former Major League Baseball infielder and baseball manager whose net worth is estimated to have $30 Million as of 2020 as per the source; celebritynetworth.com. Whereas the details regarding his exact salary are still to get unfold yet but there is no doubt in the mind of his followers that he is getting a considerable amount from his career. His major source of wealth and income comes from a baseball career. He has been enjoying his successful life as an executive, a celebrated personality, and a multi-millionaire complemented man. As of today, he is satisfied with his earnings.
How tall is Tony La Russa?
The handsome and attractive personality man, Tony La Russa still looks very young at this age of 76. His body build is average. He is very conscious about his food intakes and he regularly does exercises to keep himself fit and strong. He stands tall at the height of 1.82m with a balanced body weight of 86 Kg. His other body details such as chest size, waist size, hip size, biceps size, and more are still to get revealed yet. He has got a very charming smile attracting a lot of people towards him.
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