ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals are wasting no time honoring Tony La Russa, announcing they will retire their former manager’s No. 10 later this month.
La Russa retired last fall after leading the franchise to a second World Series title in his 16 seasons. He left the game ranked third all time in managerial victories, trailing Connie Mack and John McGraw.
The jersey will be retired May 11 prior to the Cardinals’ game against the Atlanta Braves.
La Russa is working as a consultant with Major League Baseball, and will manage the National League All-Star team at this year’s All-Star game in Kansas City on July 10.
“Tony’s managerial tenure with the Cardinals will always stand out as one of the greatest eras in Cardinals history,” chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt, Jr., said. “His passion for winning and his leadership skills were hallmarks of a style that Cardinals fans will always remember with fondness.”
La Russa’s uniform No. 10 will become the 12th retired by the Cardinals and the first since Whitey Herzog’s No. 24 in 2010.
La Russa will join Herzog as the only managers who did not play for the team to have their uniform numbers retired.
Red Schoendienst (No. 2 in 1996), Ken Boyer (No. 14 in 1984) and Rogers Hornsby each played and managed for the Redbirds.
La Russa holds the franchise record with 1,408 managing wins and produced eight division titles, three NL pennants and championships in 2006 and 2011.
He’s also second on the career list with 5,097 games managed, including the White Sox (1979-86) and Oakland A’s (1986-95).
