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Old school coaches stick together. They have to in this era of changing sports norms and practices. Baseball is no longer recognizable (or even enjoyable) to the middle-age fan and when players breach the long-standing ‘unwritten rules’ of the game, the purists come out of the woodwork to protest.
Such is the case of Yermin Mercedes of the Chicago White Sox, who recently ignored a take sign on a 3-0 pitch in the ninth inning of a 15-4 game, swinging away and hitting a home run off a position player the opposing Minnesota Twins were using as a mop up man.
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“Big mistake,” La Russa said, per ESPN. “The fact that he’s a rookie, and excited, helps explain why he just was clueless. But now he’s got a clue.
“I was upset because that’s not a time to swing 3-0. I knew the Twins knew I was upset. … He missed a 3-0 take sign. With that kind of lead, that’s just sportsmanship and respect for your opponent.”
La Russa, a Hall of Fame manager who came out of retirement at age 76 to take the reins of the White Sox this season, was lambasted by the new age thinkers who are ruining the national pastime with their excessive analytics and disrespect of the norms that once made the game great.
Not to mention his players weren’t happy either. The White Sox are 26-18 thus far this season, good enough for first place in the AL Central, so La Russa must be doing something right.
That criticism was met by another old school coach, former New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells, who stood up for LaRussa in a recent interview.
“I understand why he did what he did,” Parcells told the New York Post. “He’s not trying to rub the other team’s nose in it. That’s what that’s about…Whatever he did, I’m sure he thought it was in the best interest.”
Parcells went on to explain that he has a lot of respect for the way La Russa handles his clubs.
La Russa is a former four-time Manager of the Year recipient and has won three World Series. He is one of only two managers to the win the World Series in both the AL and the NL (Sparky Anderson is the other).
“He’s very meticulous,” Parcells said of La Russa. “I’ve seen the things that they work on, some of the details, some of the situational stuff. I’ve seen a lot of baseball and not everybody does it like he does it. He covers all the bases. … He’s a very, very astute, intelligent guy.”
Parcells has been known to retire only to return to coaching, but at age 79 he’s not entertaining a comeback like La Russa has done at 76.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Parcells said. “It surprised me that he did at that age, but I know how much he loves the game and he wants to be on the field. That’s where he belongs. That’s where he’s at his best.”