Tony La Russa
Tony La Russa
Anthony "Tony" La Russa, Jr.is an American professional baseball player, manager, and executive currently serving as Chief Baseball Officer for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is best known for his tenures as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to the present. As a manager, La Russa guided his teams to three World Series titles, six league championships and twelve division titles in 33 seasons...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth4 October 1944
CountryUnited States of America
You can't put a price on what Mark McGwire brings to the Cardinals organization. The responsibility he accepts is as great as any number of home runs.
I'm a great believer in the character of a club. To me, character has a lot to do with how you compete. That creates urgency and toughness. That elevates the talent that you have.
There's a bigger difference now than when I first got into professional baseball because that was before guaranteed contracts, before there was a lot of money, so it was mostly survival. You had more competition.
My wife and I, we started a foundation about companion animal rescue, but there's a group called Performing Animal Welfare Society just outside of Sacramento... and they offered me a job as an elephant keeper.
If the national government doesn't fix your problem, you've got a problem. You've got to fix it yourself. That's just part of the American way.
Clubs are taking away the steal of home. Not only are more pitchers throwing out of the stretch position, but more third basemen are playing closer to the bag. But another reason why nobody does it much anymore is that some guys, no matter how fast they are, just aren't comfortable trying to steal home.
If you seriously aspire to be a manager in the big leagues, there is a baseball 'book' that one must learn. Alongside that book, you must practice Spanish. Of 25 players on each roster, sometimes there are between eight and 15 players who speak Spanish.
It's a sensitive thing, playing major league baseball.
Pressure comes when someone calls on you to perform a task for which you are unprepared.
There are always distractions, if you allow them.
The thing I learned when I was playing was that your best way of winning was to make it difficult for the other team to score in the last three innings.
I'm ready to do something different.