RetroSimba

(Updated March 10, 2022)

Tony La Russa, thought by some to be too old to manage in the majors, once was thought to be too young.

On Aug. 3, 1979, La Russa was 34 when he managed his first game in the majors for the White Sox. On Oct. 29, 2020, La Russa was 76 when he was named White Sox manager for a second time.

When he joined the White Sox at 34, La Russa’s managerial experience consisted of two partial seasons in the minors.

When he rejoined the White Sox at 76, La Russa’s managerial experience consisted of a Hall of Fame resume, including leading the Cardinals to three National League pennants and two World Series championships. He ranks No. 1 all-time in wins (1,408) among Cardinals managers.

La Russa managed the White Sox from 1979-86, Athletics from 1986-95 and Cardinals from 1996-2011 before taking on a variety of front-office jobs.

His return to managing after an absence of nearly a decade drew surprise and skepticism similar to when the White Sox first hired him.

White Sox welcome

La Russa ended his playing career with the Cardinals’ New Orleans farm team as a player-coach in 1977. When manager Lance Nichols became ill, La Russa replaced him for five games. Cardinals instructor George Kissell asked La Russa whether he wanted to pursue managing as a career.

“He told me, ‘Unless you really get into learning every aspect of it, you’re not cut out for coaching or managing,’ ” La Russa recalled to Stan McNeal of Cardinals Magazine. “That was a real straightforward way to make a decision.”

La Russa was about to finish law school and take his bar exam in Florida, but he wanted to give managing a try.

According to the book, “Tony La Russa: Man on a Mission,” the Cardinals talked to La Russa about managing their rookie league club in Johnson City, Tennessee, but he declined because he wanted to start at a higher level.

Loren Babe, who managed and mentored La Russa with White Sox farm teams in 1975 and 1976, thought La Russa had the ability to manage, and recommended him to White Sox general manager Roland Hemond and farm director Paul Richards.

Acting on Babe’s tip, the White Sox hired La Russa to manage their Class AA Knoxville club in 1978. One of Knoxville’s top players was 19-year-old Harold Baines, who was destined for a Hall of Fame career. After La Russa led Knoxville to a 49-21 record in the first half of the season, he got promoted to first-base coach for the second half on the staff of White Sox manager Larry Doby, who had replaced Bob Lemon on July 1.

Don Kessinger took over for Doby as White Sox player-manager for 1979. According to the “Man on a Mission” book, La Russa could have stayed on the White Sox coaching staff, but he asked to manage the franchise’s top farm club at Des Moines because he believed being a manager there gave him a better chance than a coaching job did to develop into a big-league manager.

Kessinger had trouble getting the White Sox to play hard for him. They had a dreadful June, losing 19 of 28 games. After a seven-game skid dropped the White Sox’s record to 46-60, Kessinger resigned during a lunch meeting with team owner Bill Veeck on a day off, Aug. 2, 1979.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Veeck considered bringing back Bob Lemon to manage, and he also liked former Tigers manager Les Moss, but Veeck concluded they “wouldn’t be fitted to a ballclub that must constantly juggle its lineup.”

Veeck “should have reached for St. Jude,” Chicago Tribune columnist David Condon wrote.

Instead, Veeck reached out to La Russa, whose Des Moines club was 54-51.

Opportunity awaits

Veeck called La Russa in Des Moines and informed him he wanted him to manage the White Sox.

In the 2012 book “One Last Strike,” La Russa said, “Looking back on it, I can see they probably had more trust in me than I did in myself, or maybe as (broadcaster) Harry Caray claimed, they were too cheap to hire a real manager.”

La Russa accepted Veeck’s offer and went to Chicago that night to join the team for their flight to Toronto, where the White Sox would start a series versus the Blue Jays the following night.

“In replacing low-keyed Don Kessinger with keyed-up Tony La Russa, the White Sox may be bringing a new Earl Weaver into the American League,” wrote Richard Dozer in the Chicago Tribune. “La Russa is tough, dedicated to winning at any cost, and probably won’t keep Chicago fans waiting long to see an emotional outburst that would make Leo Durocher look like a Sunday school teacher.”

La Russa told the newspaper, “I’m a hungry manager. I have this fire that burns inside me, and it tells me I want to win any way I can.”

La Russa also acknowledged, “One of the things I’m going to have to do is learn to control my temper. I’ve made moves in anger that I might not make otherwise. You lose your temper and you lose your good sense.”

Winning start

Before his first game as White Sox manager, La Russa held a 35-minute meeting with the team. According to the “Man on a Mission” book, he told them, “Don’t embarrass me, and I won’t embarrass you. Play hard all the time. Come to me any time you want to talk.”

Third baseman Kevin Bell told United Press International, “We talked over the club’s problems in a meeting before the game. We all pretty much agreed we had been dogging it on a few occasions.”

White Sox pitcher Steve Trout said La Russa inspired everybody “with that little speech before the game,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Bell, Jim Morrison and Lamar Johnson hit home runs, sparking the White Sox to an 8-5 triumph over the Blue Jays. Trout pitched eight innings for the win and Ed Farmer pitched a scoreless ninth for the save. Boxscore

The White Sox were 27-27 for La Russa in 1979. They contended in 1982, with 87 wins, and in 1983 they had the best record in the majors (99-63) and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1959.

Joe Torre thought when he got fired by the Cardinals his career as a manager was finished. He never figured the best was yet to come.

On Nov. 2, 1995, Torre, 55, was hired to manage the Yankees, who, to his surprise, approached him about replacing Buck Showalter.

Five months earlier, when the Cardinals gave up on him, it seemed to Torre it was like three strikes and you’re out. He’d managed three teams, Mets, Braves and Cardinals, and was fired by each. His teams never won a World Series title and only one, 1982 Braves, qualified for the postseason.

After the Cardinals fired him in June 1995, Torre, who also played 18 years in the majors, including six with the Cardinals, said he planned to return to broadcasting, a role he did with the Angels before the Cardinals hired him.

Instead, given the chance to manage the Yankees, he transformed from a retread into a Hall of Famer.

Free agent

Hired by the Cardinals in August 1990 to replace Whitey Herzog, who quit, Torre had winning records in 1991, 1992 and 1993, but the club finished 53-61 in 1994 and Torre’s friend, general manager Dal Maxvill, was fired and replaced by Walt Jocketty. When the Cardinals staggered to a 20-27 start in 1995, Jocketty fired Torre.

In his book, “Chasing the Dream,” Torre said, “I planned to go back to broadcasting. The politics and players’ attitudes in St. Louis had left a sour taste in my mouth anyway. I thought I was treated shabbily by the Cardinals, though I never said anything to embarrass the organization, even when I was fired.”

Torre and his wife, Ali, moved to Cincinnati to be close to her family. In October 1995, the Yankees called and asked him to interview for their general manager job, which opened when Gene Michael stepped down.

After the interview, Torre withdrew from consideration because he said he wasn’t interested in what the role required, but he’d made a favorable impression on Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Friends in high places

On Oct. 23, 1995, the Yankees named Bob Watson as their general manager. Watson’s last three seasons as a player were with the Braves when Torre was manager. Torre entrusted him to serve as an unofficial assistant coach, an opportunity that helped prepare Watson for the next step in his baseball career.

The Yankees in 1995 had qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1981. The success heightened the popularity of manager Buck Showalter, whose contract was due to expire on Nov. 1.

Steinbrenner said Showalter wanted a three-year contract. Steinbrenner offered two years at $1.05 million, but Showalter rejected it “because it contained stipulations he didn’t like,” The Sporting News reported.

One stipulation was the Yankees wanted him to fire coach Rick Down.

When Showalter and the Yankees couldn’t agree on terms, Steinbrenner decided to let the contract expire and hire someone else.

Steinbrenner and Watson agreed on who should be the top choice: Torre.

Will to win

In his book, Torre said Steinbrenner called him and said, “You’re my man.”

A couple of days later, on Nov. 1, 1995, Torre met with Steinbrenner and Watson in Tampa. Torre was offered the same contract Showalter had rejected: two years at $1.05 million. The deal was for a salary of $500,000 the first year and $550,000 the next, and Torre was told it was non-negotiable. “It was a pay cut for me,” Torre said in his book. “I’d earned $550,000 with St. Louis.”

Torre understood the risks of working for Steinbrenner but was unfazed. “I knew George was willing to spend the money to win a world championship,” Torre said. “It wasn’t like St. Louis, where sometimes I had felt as if I were in a fight with my fists while the other guy had a gun.”

Torre accepted and the next day he was introduced at a press conference in New York as Yankees manager. He joined Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra and Dallas Green as men who managed both the Yankees and Mets.

Quality credentials

Watson said the Yankees also considered Butch Hobson, Gene Lamont, Chris Chambliss and Sparky Anderson for the manager job, but acknowledged Torre was the only candidate who met in person with club officials, Newsday reported.

Torre “had most of the qualities I was looking for in a manager,” Watson said. “He was a man I could communicate with. He’s not predictable. He’ll gamble a little bit.”

Torre told the New York Daily News, “I want a team that disrupts. I want an aggressive team. Speed never really goes into a slump.”

With characteristic self-deprecation, he added, “The way I ran as a player enables me to want someone who doesn’t run the way I did.”

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News called Torre “bright and personable” and noted he “has a natural presence that commands respect.” Torre’s downside was being “too laid back” and having a tendency to “move players out of position,” Madden added.

Pitcher Bob Tewksbury, whose best seasons occurred while Torre was managing the Cardinals, said, “He did more for me than any manager I played for. He believed in me. He has a way of relating to players that works. I don’t think you can take Joe Torre, the manager of the Cardinals, and predict how he’s going to manage the Yankees. His personnel will be different with the Yankees and he’ll adjust.”

Right stuff

Tewksbury was correct.

Torre guided the Yankees to six American League pennants and four World Series crowns., groomed Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera into Hall of Famers, and connected with consistent standouts such as David Cone, Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neill, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams.

Torre and the Yankees split after the 2007 season and he finished his managerial career with the Dodgers. His final postseason triumph came in 2009 when the Dodgers swept the Cardinals in the National League Division Series.

In 29 years as a manager in the majors, Torre had a record of 2,304-1,982. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2013 along with peers Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa.

Eddie Dyer knew when he wasn’t wanted, so he took the high road out of St. Louis.

On Oct. 16, 1950, after five seasons as Cardinals manager, Dyer, 51, resigned rather than wait for club owner Fred Saigh to make a change.

Though Dyer led the Cardinals to a World Series championship in 1946, his first year as their manager, and produced second-place finishes in each of the next three seasons, he fell out of favor with Saigh after the Cardinals dropped to fifth place in 1950.

Dyer spent 28 years with the Cardinals as a player, manager and administrator, and his resignation saved Saigh from the unpleasantness of firing an accomplished employee.

Big influence

A left-handed pitcher, Dyer played six seasons (1922-27) for the Cardinals. In 1928, club executive Branch Rickey gave him the chance to manage in the farm system, and Dyer excelled, building a reputation for grooming talent and producing winning teams.

New York Daily News columnist Jimmy Powers noted most of the Cardinals’ Gashouse Gang players in the 1930s “learned the skills of their trade from Eddie. Dyer deserves most of the credit for developing most of the great Gashousers.”

According to Powers, Dyer also “personally polished and readied the core” of the Cardinals’ teams that won four National League pennants and three World Series championships during a five-year span in the 1940s.

When Rickey left for the Dodgers after the 1942 season, Dyer, who earned a college degree at Rice, became the Cardinals’ farm system director. In 1944, he left the club to tend to his multiple and lucrative business interests in oil, insurance, real estate and beverage bottling in Houston.

When Cardinals manager Billy Southworth departed after the 1945 season for a better financial offer to manage the Braves, Dyer replaced him.

Style vs. substance

In Dyer’s first four seasons as Cardinals manager, the club had records of 98-58, 89-65, 85-69 and 96-58. Though successful, Dyer wasn’t beloved by the Cardinals’ fan base.

A St. Louis Globe-Democrat editorial noted, “Cardinals fans were accustomed to the dashing play of the old Gashouse Gang, and Eddie by no stretch of the imagination was a fire-eater manager. The fans recognized this fact and, even with a winning team, Eddie was frequently criticized.”

Dyer also got criticism from the Cardinals’ popular broadcaster, Harry Caray, and his on-air partner, Gabby Street, the former Cardinals manager.

In 1950, the heat intensified. The Cardinals ended June tied with the Phillies for first place, but faded, posting records of 12-16 in August and 13-17 in September.

“Dyer just ran out of farm products,” Jimmy Powers offered. “His Cards were milked dry.”

The 1950 Cardinals finished at 78-75. It was the first time since 1938 they had failed to finish among the top four teams in the National League standings.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Gabby Street said at a speaking engagement in Joplin, Mo., “Dyer didn’t always manage the Cardinals to suit me this past season. The Cardinals just didn’t have the hustle. They just didn’t look like any Cardinals ballclub I ever knew.”

Gentleman’s agreement

Saigh had become sole owner of the Cardinals in January 1949, and he wanted to make his mark. After the 1950 season, he did little to squelch speculation of a managerial change. Dyer’s departure “figured in the changes Saigh contemplated,” The Sporting News reported.

Saigh scheduled a meeting with Dyer on Oct. 16, 1950, in St. Louis and said a decision on the manager’s fate would be made then.

Dyer recognized he didn’t have the owner’s support. With his businesses booming in Houston, Dyer didn’t need a baseball job for income, and if he was destined to leave the franchise he had served so long and well, he wanted to do it on his terms.

“He apparently felt he had worn out his welcome in St. Louis and it was time to move on,” the Associated Press reported.

Dyer arrived at the meeting with a resignation letter. Saigh accepted the resignation and agreed to let Dyer announce the news to reporters who had gathered outside Saigh’s Sportsman’s Park office.

Harry Caray was told to stay out of the room when Dyer made his announcement because Saigh feared “an incident,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Dyer said Caray’s frequent on-air criticism was “vicious,” The Sporting News noted.

In his book “RedBirds: A Century of Cardinals Baseball,” Bob Broeg said Dyer would have had “a no-hold-barred exit with Saigh” in front of the media if Caray had been allowed to attend Dyer’s session with reporters.

When Caray stayed away, “Eddie agreed to resign gracefully, which was what Fred Saigh wanted,” Broeg observed.

Addressing reporters while perched on the arm of a chair, Dyer said he wasn’t “a candidate” to be Cardinals manager in 1951, thanked several people for their efforts and blamed player injuries for the team’s record in 1950. “I do not believe any club in the National League could have suffered as many and costly injuries as we did and still finish in the first division,” Dyer said.

Given a push

After Dyer read his statement, Saigh told the Globe-Democrat, “This comes as a shock to me.”

Regarding Saigh’s reaction, J. Roy Stockton of the Post-Dispatch wrote, “Even if there was a little salami, what of it? It was a gracious way of bidding a manager goodbye. Dyer’s long service with the club certainly made him entitled to the graceful exit.”

Others noted Dyer’s departure wasn’t solely his decision.

In an editorial, The Sporting News declared Saigh handed Dyer “his pink slip” and gave him “his dismissal notice.”

Bob Burnes of the Globe-Democrat wrote, “You can call it being fired, you can call it resigning or anything you wish.”

John Wray of the Post-Dispatch cited “widespread hostile fan comment” as part of the reason Saigh wanted a different manager.

Burnes called Dyer “one of baseball’s finest gentleman” and added, “Probably many Cardinals fans will be happy at the news Dyer is out. That has been something that always has puzzled us.”

The Sporting News noted Dyer was “strangely lacking in local popularity despite personal charm.”

Cardinals minor-league manager Johnny Keane was considered a leading candidate to replace Dyer, but Saigh instead hired popular shortstop Marty Marion. Marion lasted one season as player-manager and was replaced by Eddie Stanky.

Not until 1964, 18 years after Dyer’s 1946 team, did the Cardinals win another World Series title, and when it happened, Keane was the manager.