There’s nothing like going out on top. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is doing just that after guiding his baseball team to the franchise’s 11th World Series championship three nights ago.
This morning it was announced that La Russa,67, is retiring after 16 years of leading the Cardinals. Only two other managers have won more games than La Russa’s 2,728 – Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763) – during their careers. He won three different World Series titles – 2011 and 2006 with the Cardinals and in 1989 with the Oakland Athletics.-
La Russa, who managed for 33 years during his tenures with the Chicago White Sox, A’s and Cards, is considered a genius by some and reviled by others, but there’s no doubt that he pulled the right strings in leading his team to his final championship. As a fan of both the A’s and the Cardinals, I’ve been watching La Russa manage for a long time. It’s been a pleasure. Although I do wonder if this will impact the free agency status of standout first baseman Albert Pujols. I guess we’ll find out during the winter’s hot stove league.
For all the sports fans who wish Brett Favre had retired just once instead of seemingly 50 times and spared the world of his “will he or won’t he” scenarios a few years ago, here’s a sports story ending on a high note.
