(670 The Score) A journey that began 42 years ago for White Sox manager Tony La Russa hit another milestone Sunday.
La Russa passed John McGraw for second place on the all-time managerial wins list, recording his 2,764th career victory as the White Sox beat the Tigers, 3-0, at Guaranteed Rate Field. La Russa got this special victory with the same organization that he earned his first one for, as the White Sox promoted him from their Double-A affiliate to replace then-manager Don Kessinger back in 1979. Only Connie Mack (3,731) has won more games as a big-league manager – as he did between 1894 and 1950 with the Pittsburg Pirates and Philadelphia Athletics.
Mack also won five World Series titles, compared to La Russa's four. Although, there were never more than 16 MLB teams back in Mack's day. He managed one of only 12 MLB teams until the turn of the 20th Century.
La Russa has 1,408 wins from his 16 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, 798 from 10 years with the Oakland Athletics and 558 with Chicago in what is now his 10th season.
"This is a tribute to two things I believe,” La Russa said. “It's emotional for me that it started here (in Chicago) and ended up here. It's unbelievable I can do it in the same uniform. I give Jerry (Reinsdorf ) credit for looking at the back of my bubble gum card and seeing I was a really crappy player. He got the best coaches for me for the best support. The biggest thing is the support from my family, who allowed me to do this away from home job.”
La Russa, 76, stopped short of comparing himself to the legendary McGraw, who was the architect of the then-New York Giants dynasty that began shortly after the turn of the 20th century.
"I learned two things about him,” La Russa said. “He was a much better player than I was and has a better winning percentage than I have. I point to longevity and great situations I had presented to me.”
La Russa was asked what major lessons he has learned along the way.
“You suffer more with losses than you enjoy the wins,” La Russa said. “The best thing I learned from (Hall of Fame manager) Dick Williams and (legendary St. Louis coach/scout) George Kissell are to watch the most recent game played and you will learn everything you need to know about your team, the other team and what they do well and need to get better at. I have been mentored by the best. It's not about the stats. It's about the players, and they play for the fans.”
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La Russa cited playing and coaching in the mid-1970s as key to his future success.
“Coaching and playing for Loren Babe in the Sox system (in 1975-‘76) was really important to me,” La Russa said. “When I got to manage at that time in the American League the names managing were Sparky (Anderson), Billy (Martin), Earl (Weaver) and Gene (Mauch), Whitey (Herzog). They all reached out and gave things to me. Because I played for him in 1971, Dick Williams was a mentor for me.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.