Tony La Russa's 5 Best Managing Jobs

As Tony La Russa is about to manage his 5,000th game, it is a good time to look back at this widely loved, and hated, sure-fire Hall of Famer's long and distinguished career. He currently manages the St. Louis Cardinals and is in his 16th season with them. He has also managed the Oakland A's (1986-95) and the Chicago White Sox (1979-86). Despite what one might think of him, he has pulled off some impressive seasons, and the following is a list of his five-best season-long managing jobs. 

5: 1983, Puts the White Sox Back on Top

At the helm of the White Sox

The White Sox had not been competitive since the "Go-Go Sox" era, back in the late 50s and early 60s. They survived a long stretch of losing, mediocre play, Bill Veeck's marketing schemes and even a period of leisure-suit uniforms. After La Russa took over the club in 1979, they improved slightly but really made a splash in 1983, winning 99 games.

La Russa managed a group that included Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Harold Baines and pitchers LaMarr Hoyt, Richard Dotson and Dennis Lamp. They didn't reach the World Series that year, but La Russa put the Sox back on MLB's radar and put those unique and memorable "beach blanket" unies in baseball's collective memory. 

4: 1996, Puts the Cardinals Back in the Playoffs

The new Cards manager in 1996

The St. Louis Cardinals are not known for last-place finishes and mediocre play, but in the first half of the 1990s they were. They suffered a collapse when legendary manager Whitey Herzog unexpectedly quit, and they went on to finish last for the first time in 75 years.

Joe Torre soon took the helm and managed valiantly but couldn't bring the Cardinals back to contention. To make matters worse, Anheuser-Busch, the longtime corporate owner of the Cards, were looking to sell the team. When the Cards were sold to a new group in late 1995, they hired Tony La Russa to manage.

He immediately made a difference, guiding the club to first place and within one win of a 1996 World Series berth (until the Atlanta Braves got hot in the final three games of the NLCS). Under La Russa, players such as Brian Jordan, John Mabry and the aging Willie McGee had great seasons.

This began a series of thrilling years with the Cardinals, as they made multiple playoff appearances, not to mention two years of Mark McGwire's home run mania.  

3: The 1989 Oakland Athletics Win the World Series

The head of the A's dynasty

The A's hired La Russa as a mid-season replacement (after the Sox fired him weeks earlier) and soon La Russa's Athletics would go on a three-year championship run. A run that not been seen since the previous A's dynasty in the early 1970s.

La Russa really made his name while managing in Oakland, causing several writers to employ the term "genius"—most notably George Will in his seminal Men at Work. It wasn't difficult for La Russa to win with a group of players named McGwire, Canseco, Henderson, Parker, Stewart and Eckersley. The fact that he took them to the World Series three years in a row is quite an accomplishment.

The one title he did win, in 1989, was sadly marred by the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake. He wasn't able to really enjoy a World Series win—not even a single World Series-game win—until 17 seasons later. 

2: The 2006 Cardinals Win the World Series

La Russa can finally exhale in 2006

The La Russa-managed Cards teams of the early to middle aughts were a constant in the playoffs, and crested in the 2004 and 2005 seasons with 105 and 100 wins respectively. The 2006 season, which nearly ended in a historical first-place collapse, was to be the one that got the Cards that elusive 10th World Series title.

It also solidified La Russa's Hall of Fame credentials: he is only the second manager to win titles in both leagues. Furthermore, it (to a degree) got a large monkey off his back: one of the criticisms directed toward him is that he can guide a team masterfully through the regular season but can't win in the playoffs. The 2006 World Series winners only had 83 regular-season wins, the lowest ever for a champion. La Russa could be the luckiest or the most cursed manager in baseball.  

1: The Cardinals' 2002 Season

La Russa in 2002

There have been few teams that dealt with two horrible blows—one right after another—and survived to post a winning record. One such team was the 2002 St. Louis Cardinals, who saw the (expected but sad) death of beloved broadcaster Jack Buck on June 18 and then the (unexpected and shocking) death of starting pitcher Darryl Kile, less than a week later. Both men were revered by the team, and what should have tanked their season became a rallying-point for their success.

The Cardinals, riddled by injuries and without their staff ace, had to use no fewer than 13 starting pitchers that year. La Russa's managerial mind was put to the greatest test, and by the end of the season the team had posted an astonishing 97 wins. Arguably, there has never been a better managing job than that one.