NewsLa Russa agrees to one-year extension
But could continue managing Cardinals past 2010
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
10/26/09 6:12 PM ET
ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa agreed to a one-year contract to manage the Cardinals again in 2010, but that doesn't mean he or the club is expecting to part ways in 12 months.At a news conference dominated by talk of the Redbirds' new hitting coach, Mark McGwire, the more pivotal news almost certainly was that La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan will once again wear the "birds on the bat" for the '10 season. Every coach except hitting coach Hal McRae will return, including bench coach Joe Pettini, infield/third-base coach Jose Oquendo, outfield/first-base coach Dave McKay and bullpen coach Marty Mason. Assistant hitting instructor Mike Aldrete, who did not dress out in uniform in '09, will also be back.
It starts with La Russa, who turned 65 on Oct. 4. He has presided over one of the most successful eras in the history of the franchise and is eager to keep it going. In his 14 seasons managing the Cardinals, the team has gone to the postseason eight times, including seven outright division championships. La Russa's Cardinals have won two National League pennants and were the World Series champions in 2006.
La Russa has typically managed on multi-year contracts, but always with the understanding that either he or the organization could choose to part ways at the end of any given year -- regardless of contract status. This time around, they didn't bother with the multi-year deal. La Russa and general manager John Mozeliak both insisted that it was as simple as dispensing with the formality of multiple years, and that nothing has changed.
"At the end of the year, if ownership and the front office say you know, you're not the guy, they knew I'd walk away and they wouldn't have to pay me for the next year or two," La Russa said. "That's understandable. And if the fire had gone out and I didn't want to manage, they didn't want me here if I didn't want to manage. So it's really been one-year contracts [all along]."
While La Russa's return has seemed likely since the season ended, Duncan's appeared to be less of a slam dunk. He publicly expressed frustrations with some organizational matters in a summer interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and some pitchers began to believe that Duncan would be coaching elsewhere in 2010. However, recent weeks had increased the club's confidence that Duncan would be back.
"I met with Dave the day after our season ended," Mozeliak said. "I had a high level of optimism that he was going to return. Obviously we didn't know Tony's status at that point, but I think he was feeling comfortable where the organization was going, and he and I talked on a few of the things that were written about in terms of some frustrations. So I think we have a plan to at least address it and move on, and he seemed very eager to look at it that way."
With the coaching staff settled, Mozeliak and the rest of the front office will now turn their attention to building the 2010 roster. Mozeliak had said after the Cards' three-game ouster in the National League Division Series that securing a coaching staff was likely to take precedence over any player moves.
"This was a very big first step," Mozeliak said. "We wanted to get our coaching staff in line. So obviously with that behind us, now we will focus on the club moving ahead."
Likely Hall of Fame-bound when his career ends, La Russa has a 2,552-2,217 record in 31 seasons as a big league manager, ranking third on the all-time list. He recently passed John McGraw for second place on the all-time games managed list. La Russa is one of two managers to win World Series titles in both leagues and has a 1,232-1,034 record in St. Louis.
Matthew Leach is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
