News
La Russa likely to manage Cards in '10
Announcement of veteran's return expected Monday
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
10/25/09 7:13 PM ET
Tony La Russa appears to be coming back for a 15th season to manage the Cardinals. The team has called a news conference for Monday at 11 a.m. CT at Busch Stadium. A change on La Russa's coaching staff may indicate that his return is in fact imminent.Multiple reports have indicated that Hal McRae is out as the team's hitting coach and will be replaced by Mark McGwire, and a source confirmed those reports to MLB.com on Sunday afternoon. Moreover, former player Brian McRae, the son of Hal McRae, wrote on his Twitter account that it "looks like the Cards will hire McGwire."
Such a move would strongly indicate La Russa's return, for two reasons. One, it's likely that a new manager would have some leeway on hiring a coaching staff, and two, La Russa and McGwire are extremely close. McGwire played for La Russa in Oakland and St. Louis.
La Russa could not be reached for comment on Sunday afternoon, but was believed to be in St. Louis to attend a Bruce Springsteen concert. ESPN.com and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch both reported that La Russa was returning on a multi-year deal.
La Russa's two-year, $8.5 million contract expires at the end of the month. General manager John Mozeliak said shortly after the Cardinals were bounced from the playoffs that La Russa would be welcome to return if he so desired.
McRae, 63, was hired as the Cardinals' hitting coach following the 2004 season, replacing Mitchell Page. He has presided over attacks that finished third, sixth, 11th, fourth and seventh in the National League in runs scored.
The 2009 Cardinals left some fans disappointed with their output when the additions of Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa and Julio Lugo still didn't turn the club into an offensive juggernaut. St. Louis scored six runs in a three-game Division Series sweep against the Dodgers earlier this month.
McGwire, 46, has been out of baseball since 2001. In 16 seasons, he slugged 583 home runs, including what was then a single-season record 70 in 1998, and finished with a .263 career batting average. He has been repeatedly invited to serve as a Spring Training instructor for the Cardinals, but has declined.
McGwire has worked on hitting with current and former Cardinals Skip Schumaker, Matt Holliday and Chris Duncan in past offseasons.
Earlier this week, La Russa told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he is "speeding toward a decision" on whether to return but had not discussed a contract with Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. However, the newspaper quotes "sources familiar with the situation" as saying a formal announcement that La Russa will return was expected early this week.
In recent years, La Russa has operated under two-year contracts. However, he and the club have an unwritten agreement that either may choose to part ways at the end of any season, regardless of whether his contract is up or not.
La Russa ranks third on the all-time managerial wins list with 2,552 victories, behind Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763). His 4,772 games managed with the White Sox, Athletics and Cardinals rank second to Mack's 7,555.
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
