The Chicago White Sox are fun. They are a young, energetic, bat flipping, passionate group whose battle cry in 2020 was “Change The Game”. The party was just getting started on the Southside until Tony La Russa came along to crash it.
The White Sox named Tony La Russa as the new manager of the team on Thursday afternoon. Despite being a Hall of Famer and the third winningest manager in baseball history, fans were irate about the move.
It seemed like some players were not too thrilled either. As rumors ran rampant across Twitter about La Russa getting the job, Tim Anderson liked a Tweet from White Sox Talk saying A.J Hinch is reportedly still under consideration. This was just before the Sox named La Russa as their new skipper.
There were also reports that the hiring ruffled some feathers in the White Sox organization about La Russa’s ability to connect with players. This concern is valid given the fact he has not managed in nine seasons.
The hiring of Tony La Russa has ruffled feathers in the White Sox organization. A number of employees have concerns about his ability to connect with younger players and how he will adapt to the field after being away 9 years.
This was a Jerry Reinsdorf decision. Simple as that.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 29, 2020
It is fair to wonder how La Russa will play in the locker room especially with Tim Anderson. Anderson is a vocal leader in the clubhouse, whose energy on the field regularly provides a spark for the rest of the team. La Russa is 76 years old, managed steroid infested clubhouses, is a convicted drunk driver, and has a questionable track record with his remarks regarding the younger generation of baseball players, specifically black ones.
During his press conference he had to come out and say “There is not a racist bone in my body”. That should be a red flag if a manager has to take time out of his press conference to address that issue. While La Russa provided reasonable answers throughout the press conference, actions speak louder than words.
La Russa on Showing Emotion
One of the fears of the LaRussa hire is that he is a dinosaur that will hinder the players ability to show emotion because it is not in line with his old school style of thinking.
LaRussa tired to ease these worries during his press conference.
“I always reasoned that if it’s sincere I didn’t have a problem with it. What I see now is with players that are being more exuberant, take Tim Anderson for an example” La Russa said when asked about players expressing themselves “If I see it’s sincere and directed towards the game, that is displaying the kind of emotion that you want.”
However La Russa’s previous comments directed at a young star earlier this year don’t necessarily align with what he said. Major League Baseball has been trying to embrace the younger generation of players. Exciting young stars like Tim Anderson and Fernando Tatis Jr have been at the forefront of the campaign.
Back in August Tatis hit a grandslam against the Texas Rangers. The moment took the baseball world by storm because the Padres had a large lead and Tatis had a 3-0 count when he hit the grand slam. The Rangers were unhappy because that is against the “unwritten rules of baseball”. He is supposed to take a pitch. A fastball was hurled at the next batter Manny Machado, in retaliation. This is obviously ridiculous and the Rangers received plenty of flack for being petty.
However Tony La Russa believed Tatis was in the wrong, not the Rangers. He spoke about it in an interview with the Washington Post.
“It’s just not sportsmanlike. The way it was described to me was it’s team against team. That’s what our sport is, with these very talented individuals matching up. What it isn’t, though is an exhibition of your talents. You swing 3-0 in that game and you’re up by seven, you’re trying to drive in more runs.”
This is the man who will be managing Tim Anderson next season. Anderson was a catalyst of the “Change the Game” slogan for the White Sox after bat flipping his way into the hearts of White Sox fans. Many teammates cite Anderson as the reason the team is willing to show their personalities on the field. I imagine it will not play well if LaRussa begins scolding players for breaking the unwritten rules of baseball. Based off of his answer given to the Washington Post he would have sided with the Royals, after Brad Keller beamed Tim Anderson with a fastball, back in 2019. Anderson broke an unwritten rule by “showing up” the other team after a home run.
La Russa’s Relationship With Black Baseball Players
Last season five members of the White Sox kneeled for the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. Tony La Russa has stated in the past that he is not a fan of actions like this. Back in 2016 in an interview with Dan LeBatard he said
“I would tell a player protesting the anthem to sit inside the clubhouse. You’re Not going to be out there representing our team and our organization by disrespecting the Flag. No Sir, I would not allow it …If you want to Make your statement make it in the clubhouse”
He said this on a national radio program and doubled down on his statements in a Sports Illustrated article. Baseball has never been known as an inviting sport for black men. Less than one of every dozen major league baseball players is black. Former Orioles outfielder, Adam Jones called baseball a “white man’s sport” when asked why no baseball player had emulated Colin Kaepernick’s protest back in 2016. A comment that was directed at the old guard of baseball, people like La Russa.
La Russa showed just how out of touch he is by responding
“When he says it’s a white elitist sport, I mean how much wronger can he Be?”
It will be worrisome if he fails to connect to Tim Anderson, who is one of the team’s best players and leaders. La Russa is already off on the wrong foot. He tried to backtrack his previous comments during Thursday’s presser.
Tony La Russa addresses his 2016 comments about kneeling during the National Anthem pic.twitter.com/KgXZFJHjbj
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) October 29, 2020
This is a step in the right direction but will it be enough?
Can La Russa Manage In Today’s Game?
La Russa’s track record speaks for itself. He has won three World Series and four manager of the year awards. His baseball knowledge should not be questioned, but his fit on the White Sox should be. After Rick Renteria was fired, Rick Hahn said he wanted the new manager to be someone with recent postseason experience. Tony La Russa does not even have recent managing experience. The Chicago Tribute also cited Renteria’s push back on some of the in-game metrics and data provided to him by the baseball operations staff, as one of the reason’s the front office parted ways with him. That is a reason why the La Russa hiring is a head scratcher.
If the White Sox wanted a guy that listens to analytics La Russa is not the man for the job. If you listened to his press conference you could even hear him reference valuing men not machines. When he went to Arizona to work upstairs he said he wanted to show people you can win in a baseball way not an analytical way. The results were not very good for him in Arizona.
But despite La Russa’s anti analytics rhetoric he has always been an innovative and creative manager. He was the trailblazer of the modern use of the bullpen. In 2011 his bullpen threw more innings than the starters against Milwaukee in the NLCS. This is a strategy that has been followed to this day. By all accounts he is still very sharp despite his age. He burns with competition and has been around the game even when he was not managing. Strategically he should be up to the task.
The problem lies with the communication with his players. Players today are much different then when he last managed. Will his message fall on death ears? Listening to his press conference it is clear charisma is not something he has an abundance of. He had problems resonating with players like Colby Rasmus and Scott Roland and it led to each of them being traded. The rigors of the job are profound. La Russa can very easily get worn down by the end of the season. Will this rub off on the players? Whoever La Russa surrounds himself with will be critical to his success.
These are difficult questions to answer. But winning cures all. If La Russa is still as good at managing games as he was when he left, the White Sox will win a ton of games with him at the helm. He has an abundance of talent to work with. If players are playing hard for him and winning games it is likely he will tolerate, players showing emotion and bat flipping. If he hires a good bench coach that can connect with the players for him that would be ideal. All that would leave La Russa with is game managing responsibilities, which he is more than capable of doing. He is also going back to the a team that fired him. So La Russa’s drive to succeed should be high.
While his drive may be high enthusiasm for his hire is not. Players have to spend over 162 days with the manger over the course of a season. Nobody wants to spend that much time with someone they can’t relate too.
For players like Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert it will be difficult to connect to a 76-year old man from Tampa Bay. Micheal Kopech has documented his struggles with mental health. He will be returning this season. Will La Russa be able to relate to his problems, even though he hasn’t managed in the social media age? La Russa also has to worry about what Dallas Keuchel will think of him after his former manager was passed over for the job. La Russa’s past comments about the national anthem probably won’t thrill players like Tim Anderson either. Buckle up Sox fans this season could be a wild ride.
