page_title: Tony La Russa
section_title: Oakland Athletics (1986–1995)
hierarchical_section_title: Tony La Russa / Managerial career / Oakland Athletics (1986–1995)
caption_attribution_description: Oakland A's manager Tony La Russa.
context_page_description: Anthony La Russa Jr. is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox and a former professional baseball player in Major League Baseball. In November 2019, he joined the Los Angeles Angels as a senior advisor of baseball operations. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to the present, in several roles. In 33 years as a manager, La Russa guided his teams to three World Series titles, six league championships and twelve division titles. His 2,728 wins is third most for a major league manager, trailing only the totals of Connie Mack and John McGraw.
  As a player, La Russa made his major league debut in 1963 and spent parts of five major league seasons with the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. After a shoulder injury during the 1964–65 off-season, he played much of the remainder of his career in the minor leagues until retiring in 1977. Following his playing career, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Florida State University.
  La Russa was named manager of the White Sox in the middle of the 1979 season and guided the White Sox to an American League West division title four seasons later.
context_section_description: La Russa had a break of less than three weeks before his old club, the Athletics, called him to take over as manager. LaRussa and Duncan both joined the A's, inheriting a team that was 31-52 and in 7th place. They went 45-34 the rest of the season to finish in 3rd place in 1986.
  La Russa managed the Oakland A's to three consecutive American League Pennants and World Series appearances from 1988 to 1990. The A's swept the earthquake-delayed Bay Area 1989 World Series from the rival San Francisco Giants. The previous season, the A's had lost the 1988 World Series to manager Tommy Lasorda and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In their third consecutive appearance, the favored A's faced manager Lou Piniella, LaRussa's childhood teammate and friend and his Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series. La Russa's Athletics were swept by the Cincinnati Reds. In both 1988 and 1990 the A's had swept the Boston Red Sox 4-0 in the ALCS, after winning 100 and 99 games respectfully. The 1988 World Series was made famous by the Kirk Gibson game winning home run off of A's Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley.
  La Russa earned two American League Manager of the Year awards with the A's, in 1988 and 1992, giving him three AL awards, the latter after again winning the Western Division.
  After the 1995 season, in which the A's finished 67–77, the Haas family, with whom La Russa had a close personal relationship, sold the team after the death of patriarch Walter A. Haas, Jr.. In the off-season, La Russa left Oakland to take over for the fired Joe Torre as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. La Russa had a 798–673 regular season record and a 19–13 postseason record with Oakland.
caption: La Russa with the Oakland A's in 1989
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