PHOENIX -- Tony La Russa, 30 minutes after introducing Chip Hale as Diamondbacks manager, nudged a borrowed Sharpie and a D-backs cap toward Hale and asked for an autograph.
"You're my first manager," La Russa said with a smile. "I'm going to put this up in my office."
La Russa believes in symbols. He wore uniform No. 10 to honor Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson. In the manager's office in St. Louis, La Russa displayed a pair of spikes worn by "Super" Joe McEwing -- one of the reasons some in the Midwest believed McEwing was a top contender for the D-backs' job.
If some managers would be a bit intimidated working for a Hall of Famer like La Russa, Hale sees it as an opportunity to learn from a master. He plans to absorb as much as he can.
"It's going to be unbelievable," Hale said. "Tony will always be there to help me. If I have questions; if he has suggestions. I mean, who would not listen to Tony La Russa? Correct? So for me, it is the greatest sounding board. I have already asked him two or three things about things that he did as a manager that I saw as a player and as a coach. What were the reasons for it? It's like reading the book. His answers are perfect. I think it is going to be a big help to me."
Lest anyone believe the former manager who is third in major league history with 2,728 victories and has won three World Series will be pulling the string, La Russa made it very clear that will not be the case. He was not treated that way, he said, and he does not plan to start now.
"It is going to real clear when we get into it, once spring training starts, that the major league club will be coached by the manager and the staff," said La Russa, hired away from the commissioner's office to be the D-backs' chief baseball officer in May.
"What they brought me in here to do was evaluate players and tweak the way we play the game, so whether it is Dunc (pitching advisor Dave) or myself, we are going to coach through the coaches. Chip is going to run that team. He's the leader. What we talked about was, I want to do for him what was done for me all those early years. To be able to ask questions and get their ideas and philosophy, and then you apply them ... I'm going to be a resource."
La Russa, who began his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1979 and retired after the last of his three World Series championships in 2011, said the lessons he learned and the ideas he gained from conversations with veteran managers such as Sandy Anderson, Earl Weaver, Gene Mauch and Billy Martin were invaluable. The front offices and ownership parties in Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis also made it easier to do his job.
"They are pulling for me, but they don't get in the way of me doing my job," La Russa said. "I know how important it is for the leader of the team to be perceived as the leader of the team. That is one of my big objections when you take the analytics too far. They are very important, but what you take the analytics and help determine game strategies.
"... It's an old common-sense adage that the respect of the players goes to the decision-maker. If you are not the guy who is making out the lineup, handling the pitching or deciding whether you bunt, hit and run or steal, when you are undercutting the authority. So I will not do anything to undercut. It will be establishing a trusting relationship with the coaches."
Hale and La Russa became acquainted through the years, more so in recent years because of La Russ's involvement with the A's. Still, Hale said it was a bit disconcerting to interview with La Russa, at least early on.
"To look at a guy with a Hall of Fame ring on; and (general manager) Dave Stewart. ... These guys are guys that I respect and think the world of," Hale said. "Yes, it is a little bit tough to go in there, but once you sit down and they start talking and you start talking, it is almost like you are on the same coaching staff right now.
"That's basically what we're doing this winter is, we're a group trying to figure out what our best pieces to put into place."
From the front office through the manager's office, the roles appear set.
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