Seattle is seeking a new club president and Tony La Russa is interested
ST. LOUIS -- Sooner or later, Tony La Russa plans to be working for a baseball club again. He made that clear when he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame last month.
"Someday I'm going to be with a team because I like that," La Russa said following the Hall of Fame presser at the Winter Meetings. "I've lived my life around the score of that next game. I have missed that action."
It could be sooner, too, that the 69-year-old La Russa leaves the Commissioner's office to work in a competitive environment. The Seattle Mariners are seeking a club president and while reports say they are focusing their search on internal candidates, La Russa has let them know he is interested.
If La Russa is interested, the Mariners would be wise to pursue. He is a proven winner, of course, and the Mariners have had their trouble in that area in recent years. The team recently changed managers, hiring Lloyd McClendon, and they also signed second baseman Robinson Cano to a $240 million contract.
Don't look for La Russa back in the dugout, though. As certain as he was about his desire to return to a competitive environment, he is not planning a return to managing.
"I don't miss the dugout," he said.
At the Winter Meetings, La Russa was asked specifically about interest in a job with Seattle.
His answer was telling: "I'd like to be part of the competition again and that place has great potential."
Seattle is seeking a new club president because Chuck Armstrong is retiring at the end of January. According to reports, the Mariners are in the early stages of finding a successor.
La Russa is scheduled to be in St. Louis Jan. 19 when he will be honored at the BBWAA's annual dinner for his election into the Hall of Fame.
You can follow Stan McNeal on Twitter at @stanmcneal or email him at stanmcneal@gmail.com.
