Tony La Russa, the Hall of Famer who won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics and two more with the St. Louis Cardinals, is returning to manage the Chicago White Sox — 34 years after they fired him.
The 76-year-old La Russa rejoins the franchise where his managing career began more than four decades ago. He takes over for Rick Renteria after what the White Sox insisted was a mutual agreement to split.
La Russa inherits a team loaded with young stars and productive veterans that made the playoffs for the first time since 2008, only to sputter down the stretch and get knocked out in the wild-card round.
He becomes the oldest manager in the major leagues by five years. Houston’s Dusty Baker is 71.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, La Russa joins Jack McKeon as the only managers in MLB history to take over a team at age 75 or older. McKeon was 80 when he took over the Marlins in 2011.