Tony La Russa was pretty upset on Tuesday night after one of his players was hit in the helmet by a pitch.
Luis Robert was batting to start the bottom of the fifth inning for the Chicago White Sox against the Los Angeles Angels and was hit in the helmet by an Oliver Ortega pitch. La Russa didn’t take long to come out and have some words with home plate umpire Bill Welke and Angels catcher Max Stassi.
“That look in Tony La Russa’s eye, man,” Angels announcer Matt Vasgersian began.
Then Vasgersian shared the things he has witnessed that anger La Russa. It’s a good list.
“I have personally witnessed Tony agree about a few things on a number of occasions,” Vasgersian said. “He gets angry at the suggestion that Harold Baines is not a Hall of Famer. He gets angry when he is compared unfavorably to younger managers who are somehow considered more analytically-savvy. But nothing makes him angrier than when his player gets hurt, even if there is no intent.”
That’s probably a good part of the reason why La Russa has been so successful as a manager. The guy loves his players and goes to bat for them.
Baines, by the way, played for La Russa on the White Sox and Oakland A’s. Baines was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019 despite being dropped from the initial ballot due to low voting totals.
As for questions about La Russa’s age, Tim Anderson had a great response.
