Will La Russa return to the White Sox?
Tony La Russa has not even had time to reflect, but speculation is already growing the Hall of Fame bound manager will return to the White Sox, the place where it all began.
After guiding the surprising St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series championship, the 67-year-old La Russa announced his retirement as manager on Monday.
If he ultimately decides to return to baseball, it would likely be in the front office.
Jerry Reinsdorf was at Busch Stadium Friday night when La Russa won his third World Series ring. Reinsdorf said he was as happy for La Russa as he was when the Sox won it all in 2005.
Reinsdorf would love getting La Russa back, and that leads to an obvious question: Why did La Russa ever leave the White Sox in the first place?
Let's turn it over to longtime Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson.
“I'm the only guy that ever fired Tony,” Harrelson said Tuesday from his winter home in Orlando, Fla. “But people have to remember, too, he was the first manager I ever hired.”
Harrelson is well known for his work in the White Sox' TV booth, but younger fans might not know he was the club's general manager in 1986.
La Russa got his start as a major-league manager with the Sox in 1979, and he led them to the American League West title in 1983 with a 99-63 record.
The White Sox were a respectable 85-77 in 1985, but Reinsdorf reassigned general manager Rolland Hemond at season's end and brought in Harrelson.
One of Hawk's first orders of business was bringing back La Russa as manager.
“His contract was up when I came in and I hired him and gave him a nice raise,” Harrelson said.
But after the Sox stumbled to a 26-38 start in '86, Harrelson fired La Russa.
Reinsdorf has often talked about the colossal blunder, and the decision bothers Harrelson to this day.
“I certainly did not fire Tony because he was a bad manager,” Harrelson said. “There was a difference of opinion and I'm not going to get into that. That was 1986 ... what was that, 25 years ago? That's a quarter of a century. Tony has had a wonderful career.”
Harrelson said he didn't talk to La Russa for “five or six years” after the firing, but he remembers taking a phone call from Oakland Athletics president Roy Eisehhardt the day after letting La Russa go.
“(Eisenhardt) called me and said, ‘I heard you and Tony had a problem,'” Harrelson said. “I said, ‘Yeah.' He said, ‘Let me ask you a question. You know our club, what kind of a manager do you think Tony would be with this team?'
“I said, ‘I think he would do a (heck) of a job for you. If you are asking me for a recommendation, yes, I recommend Tony.'”
Less than two weeks later, La Russa headed to Oakland and managed the A's from 1986-95 while winning one World Series championship.
La Russa managed the Cardinals from 1996 through this season and won two more titles.
Overall, La Russa won 2,728 games as manager, the third-highest total in history.
“With Tony, the numbers speak for themselves,” Harrelson said. “He's No. 3 all-time; that is the name of that tune right there. You don't get to be No. 3 all-time by being lucky.”
sgregor@dailyherald.com