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LaRussa comes to Kane County, reflects on career

Whether discussing Harold Baines' legendary knack for producing in the clutch, the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry or mentors such as Chuck Tanner, Billy Martin and Earl Weaver, Tony LaRussa was frank about his journeyman career as a player.

"I was a lousy player," LaRussa said during his news conference Wednesday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark in Geneva.

LaRussa, a 2014 Hall of Fame inductee, is surpassed by only coaching immortals Connie Mack and John McGraw for all-time victories by a Major League Baseball manager.

During his stints with the White Sox, Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals, LaRussa amassed three World Series championships, six league titles and the 1983 White Sox were the first of his dozen division titles.

His finished with 2,728 victories as a manager.

"I always root for the White Sox, A's and Cardinals, unless we are playing them," LaRussa said.

LaRussa is the Chief Baseball Officer for the Arizona Diamondbacks and was in town - with top lieutenants in tow - for the Kane County Cougars game against the Burlington Bees.

The Cougars are in their first year of being affiliated with their parent club in Phoenix.

LaRussa spoke volumes about the 1983 White Sox team that snapped a 24-year franchise playoff drought by winning 81 of their last 121 games to capture the American League West.

"Everyone on that team said it was the most fun they ever had," LaRussa said.

White Sox starters Floyd Bannister, Richard Dotson and ultimate Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt went an astonishing 42-5 after the All-Star break that year to fuel the White Sox run.

"It was amazing," LaRussa said of the starters' second-half brilliance. "That team was so tight. Forty-two and five. Once they got it going, they kept it going. They refused to stop."

LaRussa called the notoriously taciturn Baines "tied for the greatest clutch hitter" he ever managed.

The four-time manager of the year said Baines would have been a sure-fire Hall of Famer had not knee injuries robbed his chance to reach 3,000 career hits.

"You don't produce like (Baines did), unless you're a leader and a competitor," LaRussa said. "He was never going to draw attention to himself."

With the Wrigley Field centennial rapidly approaching, LaRussa was asked his thoughts on the venerable ballpark.

"It's a unique ballpark," said LaRussa, who ended his playing career with the Cubs in 1973. "It was a difficult place to manage."

"What a treat for our fans to have the opportunity to meet a man who has been so impactful on baseball," Kane County Director of Public Relations Shawn Touney said. "It really strengthens the partnership between the Cougars and Arizona Diamondbacks."

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