The ongoing saga between the Chicago White Sox and Tony La Russa may be over.
According to Mike Rodriguez from the White Sox Spanish language broadcasts and Univision, La Russa and the White Sox are ending their relationship after this season. As such, he will not be returning to the bench in 2023, leaving the team to find a new skipper.
Tony La Russa, Chicago White Sox to reportedly part ways
The fact that this relationship came to an abrupt end should not be much of a surprise. La Russa was a strange choice to manage the White Sox when he was initially hired as it had been nearly a decade since he was on the bench. There were concerns that the game had passed La Russa by in that time frame, that he was not the right option for a younger roster.
Those concerns bore themselves out. La Russa infamously refused to back up Yermin Mercedes after he was hit by a pitch following a garbage time homer. The team never lived up to its potential with his guidance afterward, playing tight and seemingly not allowed to have fun.
Then there were concerns about La Russa’s managerial abilities. There were times when he was literally asleep in the dugout. He would issue intentional walks when batters had two strikes against them. It was a disaster.
But all of that pales to his health woes. La Russa was on a leave of absence due to issues with his pacemaker and various procedures. His doctors would not allow him to even watch a White Sox game due to his stress levels. As he is going to be 78 years old by the start of next year, bringing him back for the final year of his contract with those medical issues would be a disaster.
In the end, parting ways would be the best result. La Russa can head back into retirement, focusing on his health and working on his charitable endeavors. The White Sox can find someone who connects with the roster better and could potentially remove the interim tag from Miguel Cairo without an awkward situation.
It is worth noting that this is currently the only report about the White Sox and La Russa parting ways at the end of the year. However, this is also one of those situations that just makes sense. Where there is smoke, there may be fire, especially in this case.
According to reports, the Chicago White Sox are parting ways with Tony La Russa. If true, this is the best option for everyone involved.