Will the Chicago White Sox coach Tony La Russa return this season or next season?
With his name essentially synonymous with the franchise, the news will come as a blow, but their is still a post season beckoning.
If one thing is certain, it’s that the legendary White Sox manager won’t be returning to the bullpen this season, but where next season is concerned, we’ll have to wait and see.
Tony La Russa will not return to the White Sox this season
According to reports on Saturday, Tony La Russa will not be returning to manage the Chicago White Sox this season. Team doctors announced, that they had advised La Russa that it would be best for him to sit out the remainder of the 2022 season, following various tests and medical procedures in recent days. The news of course, comes on the back of La Russa himself announcing that he had a pacemaker inserted earlier this month. As things stand, Bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue to serve as acting manager through until the end of the season.
Interestingly, the White Sox have actually performed better since the 77-year-old relinquished his managerial role back on August 31st. Indeed, under Cairo the Sox have posted a 12-9 record with .571 batting, compared with a record of 64-66 and .492 under La Russa. With that said, it would be unfair to say that La Russa has been the problem. In truth the White Sox have been subpar all year and in keeping with that, will probably miss the playoffs. They are currently 5 1/2 games off of a wild card spot with 10 games to play.
Will Tony La Russa return to the White Sox next season?
While there is no official word at this time, one has to admit that the chances of La Russa returning to the White Sox for the next campaign are quite slim. Given his age and current medical status, it doesn’t matter that he was originally handpicked by White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. As has already been established, the Sox have struggled during the two-year tenure of La Russa, which is to say that a change in management may be just what the doctor ordered.