La Russa: Would have been ‘haunted’ if left D-backs after this season
Oct 26, 2016, 9:57 AM | Updated: 11:29 am
Arizona Diamondbacks Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa walks from a meeting of MLB owners, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, in Coral Gables, Fla. The two-day meeting of baseball owners is expected to include updates on stadium security, preventing takeout slides at second base, and instant replay. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Tony La Russa is no longer the Arizona Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer, as the organization decided to transition him into the role of an adviser.
The change was made after the D-backs followed up a busy and expensive offseason with a 69-93 record, which was just good enough to avoid last place in the NL West.
Since the end of the season, the organization parted with manager Chip Hale as well as GM Dave Stewart, and have named former Boston Red Sox executive Mike Hazen the new GM and executive vice president.
Many felt the 72-year-old La Russa would also move on, either by way of the D-backs forcing him out or him electing to leave. The former did not happen, and the latter, La Russa said, was not an option.
“It’s the most simple, basic and the one I’ve lived with for years,” La Russa told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM of why he decided to return. “Unfinished business.”
La Russa was hired in May 2014 to oversee a rebuilding effort that appeared to be on track after the D-backs won 79 games in 2015. The following winter they signed star free agent pitcher Zack Greinke to a record deal and made a blockbuster trade for young hurler Shelby Miller.
Expectations were high for 2016, and for a variety of reasons — including Greinke and Miller’s struggles — the D-backs fell woefully short of them.
“When you’re 20-plus under .500 and you bear significant responsibility for that record, if I wasn’t coming back, I’d be haunted by that the rest of my life,” La Russa said. A the three-time World Series champion as a manager as well as four-time MLB Manager of the Year said his on-field accomplishments would not matter because as an executive, he would have failed in his responsibilities.
“The reason I’m back, and hopefully can just be more proactive about what we teach and how we teach it, but that’s why just, I cannot — well, it would haunt me the rest of my life to think of the last competition I was a part of, we stunk,” he said. “I can’t abide that.”
What exactly La Russa will be doing in his new role is not particularly clear, but what is known is that he now has more bosses than before. Whereas before he was overseeing Stewart, Hale and the like, he is now answering to Hazen, among other people. He has no issue with that.
“That was my No. 1 responsibility the two-and-a-half years that I’ve been here; I’ve made it very clear that I thought Dave Stewart did a good job, as well as the front office, but it wasn’t good enough in the minds of the people that really run this thing,” he said. “With that, if you want to be a part of it — and like I said, I’m haunted by it and I’m pleased, that hopefully, we’ll hopefully have a dramatic turnaround next year — but I will say this: our owner and our CEO have made good choices.
“Mike Hazen is very, very impressive. He’s paid a lot of dues, a lot of knowledge he brings to this. He’s got the hunger.”
The 40-year-old Hazen came to Arizona after being part of the Red Sox organization for 11 seasons, the last as the senior vice president and general manager while working under Dave Dombrowski. Prior to that, he was the team’s assistant GM for four seasons.
La Russa added he has not yet met Amiel Sawdaye, who on Monday was hired as the assistant GM, but he has strong belief in Hazen.
“The organization’s in really good hands with Mike, and I’m sure throughout, wherever you work in the organization, you’re going to appreciate his style,” he said. “It’s his time, and he’s going to do very well.”
