White Sox announce stunning hire: Tony LaRussa, 76, is coming back

Tony LaRussa began what would become a Hall-of-Fame managerial career with the Chicago White Sox in 1979.

Forty-one years later, the White Sox are bringing him back.

The White Sox announced Thursday that the 76-year-old LaRussa would be the club’s new manager, replacing Rick Renteria, who was fired after the Sox made the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.

La Russa, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, has won three World Series champions and is a four-time winner of the Manager of the Year Award.

He last managed the St. Louis Cardinals from 1996-2011. He’s perhaps best known for his tenure with the Oakland Athletics from 1986-1995. He managed the White Sox from 1979-1986.

“While I have had other inquiries about managing since retiring, this opportunity with the White Sox brings together a number of important factors that make this the right time and the right place,” La Russa said in a release. “The on-field talent is amazing, and the front office, led by Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn, has done everything necessary to create an atmosphere of long-term success. All of those factors aligned to make this a tremendous opportunity, and I am excited to get going as soon as possible by building a coaching staff and getting to work.”

The White Sox reportedly never interviewed former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who returned from a a suspension this week.

LaRussa’s hiring leaves only two vacant managerial positions in baseball: The Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox.

The Tigers have interviewed nearly a dozen candidates and are likely to turn their attention this week to Hinch and Alex Cora, the former Red Sox manager who was suspended for his role as Hinch’s bench coach with the Astros in 2017.

Tigers general manager Al Avila has said both Hinch and Cora are on his “list.”