This Day in Baseball History
2011 - St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa retires
Three days after the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series win in 2011, manager Tony La Russa retires.
"There isn't one (factor) that dominates (my decision)," La Russa tells Matthew Leach of MLB.com. "They all just come together, telling you your time is over.
"We went through the season, and I felt that this just feels like it's time to end it, and I think it's going to be great for the Cardinals to refresh what's going on here."
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
La Russa's managerial careers spans three-plus decades, including eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox, 10 seasons with the Oakland Athletics and the final 16 seasons with the Cardinals.
The future Hall of Famer leaves the game as one of ten managers to have won three World Series championships, and was named Manager of the Year on four separate occasions.
Despite slashing .199/.292/.250 with one RBI in 132 major league games as a player, La Russa became one of the game's elite managers, sitting third all-time in career wins with 2,728.
Birthdays
1963 - Fred McGriff
1970 - Steve Trachsel
1973 - David Dellucci
1981 - Mike Napoli
1983 - Luis Mendoza
1987 - Yamaico Navarro