ST. LOUIS — Former manager Tony La Russa will have
his number retired by the St. Louis Cardinals during a pregame ceremony before
they host the Atlanta Braves on May 11.
FOX Sports Midwest broadcaster Dan McLaughlin broke the news during the
Cardinals pregame show Tuesday night.
La Russa, who retired just three days after leading the Cardinals to their 11th
World Championship last fall, will have his famed No. 10 added to the historic
list of Cardinals greats to have their number put out of service.
"I think it's great," said Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst, whose No.
2 jersey is retired by the Cardinals. "He had an outstanding career here
so it's no surprise. It's great to hear.
"He was pretty special. How many years was he here, 16? He won three
pennants, two World Series titles, I mean that's pretty impressive."
La Russa finished his 33-year managerial career with 2,728 victories, just 35
short of John McGraw for second place on the all-time wins list. In 16 seasons
with the Cardinals, La Russa led them to eight division titles, three National
League pennants and two World Championships.
The Cardinals finished below .500 just three times under La Russa and won at
least 100 games twice. He's the second manager in franchise history to lead the
club to multiple World Series Championships.
La Russa, 67, figures to be a virtual lock to be elected to the Hall of Fame
when he is eligible for a vote in December 2013 on the "expansion
era" ballot for managers and executives. Once that occurs, La Russa will
be able to don the traditional red blazer and join the other Cardinals Hall of
Famers on Opening Day and during the playoffs.
"They don't just hand out those red coats," St. Louis native and
World Series MVP David Freese said. "Tony deserves all the success he's
gotten and to get thrown into that class, that's pretty special.
"It's obviously a great thing for Tony and for the Cardinals. It's obviously
well deserved. To join that group, it's pretty cool."
The Cardinals posted National League bests in both regular-season wins (913)
and postseason wins (33) during the 2000s. They are first in the NL in playoff
wins (50) since La Russa took over in 1996, and their .544 winning percentage
in the regular season was second in the NL during that span.
La Russa was the longest-tenured manager/head coach of the four major
professional sports leagues before he retired. Angels manager Mike Scioscia,
who took over in 2000, is now the senior manager in Major League Baseball.
La Russa made the decision to retire about the same time the Cardinals began
their magical run late last August. He informed general manager John Mozeliak
and chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., but the group kept the news quiet, even as they
made their historic World Series run.
His No. 10 will join Ozzie Smith (1), Schoendienst (2), Stan Musial (6), Enos
Slaughter (9), Ken Boyer (14), Dizzy Dean (17), Lou Brock (20), Whitey Herzog (24),
Bruce Sutter (42), Bob Gibson (45) and former owner August 'Gussie' Busch (85)
on the Cardinals retired numbers wall in left field.
Broadcaster Jack Buck and former player Rogers Hornsby are both honored on the
retired numbers list as well. The Cardinals plan to give out 25,000
commemorative figurines of La Russa at the May 11 game.
La Russa is currently working for Major League Baseball as an advisor to
commissioner Bud Selig.
