Just in case you live under a rock, another baseball legend has withdrawn from the game.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa called it quits Monday, just days after winning a thrilling World Series against the Texas Rangers.
“I think this just feels like it’s time to end it,” he said at a press conference.
As a New York Mets fan and a fan of the sport, I’m torn.
LaRussa had a reputation as a high-end manager and I can attest that he was one of the best manager I’ve been alive to witness. The numbers don’t lie either. LaRussa was employed as the manager for Major League Baseball teams, the best in the country, for 33 years. Along the way, he accumulated a .536 overall record, six pennants, three World Series titles and four Manager of the Year awards during his time with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Cardinals.
His last 16 years were spent in St. Louis, a long-time foe of New York. Now I may not be old enough to remember the rivalry back in the 1960s-1980s when Bob Gibson reined, Keith Hernandez swapped sides and the Mets lost a 25-inning game that lasted more than seven hours, but I do vividly remember the 20 inning win on April 17, 2010 where Mike Pelfrey picked up the save, and infinitely more painful, the 2006 NLCS. In fact, I was at game seven and witnessed Adam Wainwright mesmerize Carlos Beltran with his wicked curveball. It hasn’t helped that Albert Pujols and the Cardinals have continued to enjoy success, they just won the whole thing, while the Mets haven’t seen a winning record since 2008 – the second consecutive year they lost a playoff berth at the end of the season.
There’s never been a particular fondness between St. Louis and New York, and now the younger fans have their own history. To see LaRussa go, hopefully means the beginning of a brighter days for Mets fans.
Still, it’s always a dark day when someone who made their mark finally calls it quits. Perhaps it won’t be as dark the next time his former club heads to Citi Field.
The Mets-Cardinals rivalry in the mid-80s was intense. I still can’t believe they didn’t win the division in 85 after Strawberry’s HR off of Ken Dayley…
For a great read on LaRussa try “Three Nights in August: Strategy, Heartbreak, and Joy Inside the Mind of a Manager”. A thinking book featuring a thinking manager (and one of the best managers in my lifetime).
The author, Buzz Bissinger, was on with Evan Cohen & Steve Phillips on Sirius/XM’s Mad Dog channel this morning.
Now I’m conflicted. Metsense knows his stuff and if he says it’s a good book – I believe him. But Bissinger is the one who is so threatened by bloggers that he acts less than honorably whenever the subject of bloggers is broached.
“I think that blogs are dedicated to cruelty, they’re dedicated to journalistic dishonesty.” Bissinger said on a panel hosted by Bob Costas. You can view it here, but be forewarned that he swears in the clip.
I’m not dedicated to cruelty or dishonesty and I’m not pleased to have someone scream and curse at me telling me how much better he is than me. And I’m certainly not predisposed to giving that type of person money.
Brian, I had no idea of the authors background and I respect your position. If I still had a copy I’d send it to you for free as I enjoyed the read. If Bissinger is so threatened by bloggers, it is his loss, and he is missing out on interesting analysis and information.
He was also openly ridiculing Billy Beane and sabermetrics in general on Cohen/Phillips.
Thanks! I’ll take a look for it at the library.