Chicago White Sox hire Tony LaRussa as manager

The Chicago White Sox have announced that Tony LaRussa has been hired as their new manager.

This is quite a move for the ChiSox, who fired Rick Renteria as their manager after the 2020 season. The ChiSox made the playoffs this year, going 35-25 before falling to the Oakland A’s in the Wild Card Series.

LaRussa managed the ChiSox from 1979 until he was fired in the middle of the 1986 season. LaRussa was then hired by the Oakland A’s less than a month later, and managed them through 1995. LaRussa managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996 through 2011, retiring as the Cardinals manager after 2011, and has had advisory roles since then.

LaRussa is 76, making him a curious choice to be brought back to lead a young ChiSox team that is seen as being on the upswing. Guys in their mid-70s don’t usually get hired to manage MLB teams.