Tony La Russa steps down as White Sox manager citing multiple health concerns
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Tony La Russa officially announced his retirement as manager of the Chicago White Sox on Monday, citing multiple health concerns over the past year, including a problem with a pacemaker he had installed last February.
La Russa's announcement comes ahead of the teams' final three-game set against the Minnesota Twins to wrap up a severely disappointing season.
Despite starting the season among the league's World Series favorites, the White Sox will need to win out the rest of their games just to finish with a winning record. They were eliminated from the playoffs last week, amid an eight-game losing streak.
La Russa, who turns 78 on Tuesday, stepped away from the team at the end of August on the advice of his doctors and underwent a procedure to repair his pacemaker. He said in a statement that a periodic check of the device identified a problem and he was notified during batting practice on Aug. 30.
He added a second health issue was diagnosed during an annual exam earlier this year. La Russa did not specify what the issue was, he said he decided to "delay confronting it" until the offseason. While he was inactive with the pacemaker issue, La Russa said the second issue was analyzed and his medical team began to implement a "corrective plan."
While La Russa said his "overall prognosis is good," he added "it has become obvious that the length of the treatment and recovery process for this second health issue makes it impossible for me to be the White Sox manager in 2023."
As USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported, subsequent concerns about La Russa's heart health prompted his doctors to advise him to step away permanently from his high-stress duties as manager. La Russa had been under contract with the White Sox through the 2023 season.
La Russa's second tenure with the White Sox will end in disappointment. After making their first playoff appearance in 12 years in 2020, the White Sox parted ways with then-manager Rick Renteria, after losing in the first round to the Oakland Athletics.
La Russa called the team's 2022 performance an "unacceptable disappointment."
"There were some pluses, but too many minuses," he said in a statement. "In the Major Leagues, you either do or you don't. Explanations come across as excuses. Respect and trust demand accountability, and during my managerial career, I understood that the ultimate responsibility for each minus belongs to the manager. I was hired to provide positive, difference-making leadership and support. Our record is proof. I did not do my job."
Although it appeared general manager Rick Hahn was prepared to hire A.J. Hinch to replace Renteria, by all accounts owner Jerry Reinsdorf instead dictated the hiring of La Russa, even though the Hall of Fame manager hadn't been in a major league dugout since 2011. La Russa originally managed the White Sox under Reinsdorf from 1979 until partway through the 1986 season. During that first tenure, La Russa led them to a 99-win season and a division title in 1983, and Reinsdorf has said it was among his greatest regrets that he let then-general manager Ken "Hawk" Harrelson fire La Russa three years later in 1986.
La Russa's second run with the White Sox yielded an American League Central title and their first-ever back-to-back playoff appearance in 2021. However, the team's winning percentage actually declined relative to Renteria's final year in 2020, and the Sox, also as in 2020, were again bounced from the postseason in the first round.
Still, La Russa said the 2020 and 2021 seasons were "important positive steps for this organization."
"To see not just the talent, but the personalities, the way it came together, and that's why I'm upset," he said. "This is going to work next year. I've worked hard to earn [the players'] respect and trust, but I'm also upset that I let them down this year."
Things got worse in 2022. Despite playing in the weakest division in baseball and beginning the season among the favorites to reach the World Series, the White Sox under La Russa weren't able to overcome a rash of injuries. They spent just eight days in first place and none after April 20. The team initially saw better results under La Russa's interim replacement, Miguel Cairo, but they weren't able to catch the Cleveland Guardians, who surged down the stretch.
"Finally, I am sincerely disappointed that I am leaving without the opportunity to finish what I was brought in to do," La Russa said. "I still appreciate the chance to come back home to the White Sox and leave today with many more good memories than disappointments."
In remarks to the news media on Monday, Hahn said this was "not exactly how we wanted Tony's tenure to end." Hahn added that the search for a new manager would begin "in earnest" in the coming days.
While Hahn said the team would avoid any specifics on who's being evaluated to fill the role, he said the organization is looking for candidates with some "general parameters."
"In the end, the right candidate is someone who has recent experience in the dugout with an organization that has contended for championships," Hahn said. "Ideally, it's someone who is an excellent communicator, is someone who understands the way the game has grown and evolved in the last decade or so. But at the same time obviously respect for old-school sensibilities is going to be important as well.
Hahn said having a history with the White Sox "is by no means a requirement," but added that Cairo "absolutely" deserves and will receive an interview based on the team's performance under his interim leadership.
He also acknowledged the disappointment with the team's performance this season, especially on the offensive side. While Hahn said changes will have to be made at multiple levels, the organization is not looking for a full overhaul, citing the talent already on the roster.
"It's easy at the end of a disappointing season to say you got to burn it to the ground," Hahn said. "I think that's not where we're at as an organization."
La Russa, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014, won two World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals and another with the Oakland A's. He won the Manager of the Year award in his respective league four times and is second on the all-time managerial wins list behind only Connie Mack. La Russa's second stint with the White Sox will be remembered as a curious and largely unsuccessful addendum to what is otherwise a stellar career in the dugout.