My Conversation With Tony La Russa
The Baseball Hall of Fame Manager, who has led teams to three World Series championships, on developing mental toughness in players, the intense calculations between pitches, and more ...
As we head into the 2021 World Series, I’d like to share a conversation with the baseball manager who has the second most wins in major league history — Tony La Russa.
In 2012, we spoke on a CNN radio program I hosted at the time. This was a year after he led the St. Louis Cardinals from 10 and a half games down with a month left in the season to a World Series championship.
We talked, among other things, about the importance of mental toughness in a sport that involves so much failure.
And he takes us behind the scenes to better understand the intensity of the time between each pitch.
You can listen to our 19-minute conversation, and read along with subtitles, by clicking the play icon on the Vimeo link above.
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Postscript:
When we spoke in 2012, Tony La Russa had recently retired as a manager.
This past season, at the age of 76, he was persuaded to return to the game as manager of the Chicago White Sox. The team lost in the playoffs to the Houston Astros, who will face the Atlanta Braves in this World Series.
La Russa is expected to return as White Sox manager in 2022.
Which reminds me of one of his favorite quotes, which he shared at the end of our conversation: “Three strikes and you’re not out.”