As La Russa envisions White Sox staff, pitching coach is a priority
Even before he was the surprise choice to replace Rick Renteria as White Sox manager, Tony La Russa was already thinking about his coaching staff.
La Russa paid a visit to Dave Duncan, who was the Hall of Fame manager's pitching coach for 16 seasons.
Asking the 75-year-old Duncan if he'd be interested in a reunion with the Sox, the 76-year-old La Russa got the expected answer - no.
"I have no desire to do that," Duncan told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
On the same day Renteria was let go, Oct. 12, the Sox also cut ties with Don Cooper, who was pitching coach for 18 seasons.
In addition to finding a replacement, La Russa has to determine if Renteria's other coaches are going to stay.
"The players are always a priority, but I think the first meaningful conversation will be about the staff," La Russa said after being named White Sox manager last Thursday. "We're just starting. This has happened, this wasn't a long process, this happened the last two, three days. So in discussions with (vice president) Kenny (Williams) and (general manager) Rick (Hahn), probably get (chairman) Jerry (Reinsdorf) involved if we have to, I mentioned it in another conversation, the importance of a coaching staff at the major-league level today is vital."
Having been away from the game for so long - La Russa last managed in 2011 when he guided the St. Louis Cardinals over the Texas Rangers in the World Series - the decisions won't be made lightly.
"It was vital in 1979 when I first got the job, in 1981 when Jerry first took over," said La Russa, who broke in as a major-league manager with the Sox in '79. "Jerry was one of the first owners I know that realized that coaches were just not fungo hitters and friends of the manager."
In early talks about the coaching staff, La Russa acknowledged "continuity" is a priority.
That's likely good news for bench coach Joe McEwing, who played for La Russa in St. Louis in 1998-99.
Frank Menechino should also be back as hitting coach following a successful debut season with the White Sox.
Promoted from Class AAA Charlotte to replace Todd Steverson, who was fired after the 2019 season, Menechino and new assistant hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh oversaw a Sox offense that led the American League with 96 home runs and ranked second with a .261 batting average and .779 OPS.
La Russa said he's already gotten texts from candidates interested in replacing Cooper as pitching coach.
"That's a huge vacancy," La Russa said. "Pitching has so much potential and is so important to the success, not just in 2021 but going forward, that we're going to be very open-minded about who the choice is. I know that there is a lot of confidence in Curt (Hasler) in the bullpen, so maybe we just need just one choice, not two. But we're just getting into that process and it's going to have the highest priority."
Richard Dotson, who played for La Russa from 1979-86, is an in-house candidate. He's been a pitching coach in the White Sox's minor-league system for 19 years.
Matt Zaleski, who was born in Arlington Heights and prepped at Driscoll Catholic High School, is a rising star in the organization.
Zaleski has been a coach for five years and he helped develop Garrett Crochet and Dane Dunning at the Sox's Schaumburg training facility during the summer.