Posted at 7:40 a.m., Monday, October 22, 2007
Baseball: La Russa officially back to manage Cardinals
By Jim Salter
Associated Press
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not been made, did not know details of the contract. An afternoon news conference was scheduled at Busch Stadium.
The 63-year-old La Russa had weighed leaving after a trying season in which the defending World Series champions finished 78-84.
The year got off to a rocky start before the season even began when La Russa was arrested for drunken driving in March near the team's spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla. Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock died in May after a drunken-driving accident, and several players were lost for long stretches of the season because injuries, including Chris Carpenter, the staff ace who pitched only in the season-opener.
Speculation that La Russa would leave was fueled further when the Cardinals fired general manager Walt Jocketty this month. Jocketty and La Russa have been close since the days when both were with Oakland. The Cardinals have not hired Jocketty's replacement.
La Russa has led St. Louis to seven playoff appearances, six NL Central championships, two pennants and the 2006 World Series win over Detroit. His A's team won the 1989 World Series.
La Russa is 1,055-887 (.543) with the Cardinals. He is third on the career wins list with a lifetime record of 2,375-2,070 (.534) with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's and the Cardinals.
He was AL manger of the year in 1983, 1988 and 1992, and NL manager of the year in 2002.
La Russa's three-year contract expired after this season. His name came up as a possible replacement for Joe Torre, who left the Yankees after 12 seasons, though La Russa denied interest in the Yankees job. La Russa took over the Cardinals after Torre was fired midway through the 1995 season.
