It has been a disappointing year for the Chicago White Sox after coming into the season as the favorite to win the AL Central division. Things got even worse on Saturday after some unfortunate news emerged regarding White Sox manager Tony La Russa.
The team released a statement prior to Saturday’s game detailing that La Russa will not be the manager for the White Sox for the remainder of the season.
“After undergoing additional testing and medical procedures over the past week, doctors for Tony La Russa have directed him to not return as manager of the Chicago White Sox for the remainder of the 2022 season.”
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 24, 2022
La Russa has been away from the team since the end of last month, when he was ruled out indefinitely due to an undisclosed medical issue.
This statement also detailed that bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue to serve as the acting manager of the White Sox for the rest of the season.
The White Sox have had a difficult season, sitting at 76-75 heading into Saturday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers. They would need to catch the 82-68 Seattle Mariners to get the last AL Wild Card spot, and they’d have to leap past the 79-71 Baltimore Orioles as well.
Beyond the White Sox’s overall struggles, this season been particularly tough for La Russa. The long-time manager has been criticized heavily for some of his decisions on the field this year.
Considering La Russa is 77 years of age and experiencing these troubling health concerns, many around the MLB world seem to think that this could be the last time we see him manage an MLB team.
This should read “Tony La Russa will not be returning to manage the White Sox again.”
Glad he’s alright but no one should lose sight of the fact that he’s the primary reason they’ll be sitting at home in 2 weekends watching the playoffs. It’s over. https://t.co/gVZxJlwFoV
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) September 24, 2022
Cairo will continue to manage White Sox this season. Nothing said yet about next year for Tony La Russa. https://t.co/OsHmoqSjAg
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 24, 2022
Tony La Russa will NOT return to the dugout this season. Now the question is … will we ever see him in the #WhiteSox dugout again? pic.twitter.com/uFCwWL9Pqc
— Mike Berman (@MikeBermanNBC) September 24, 2022
La Russa has one year remaining on his contract with Chicago. But it certainly appears like his future as the White Sox manager is very much in question.
His managerial career dates all the way back to 1979, so it would certainly be a somber way to go out if this is La Russa’s final year in MLB.
[Chicago White Sox; photo from Kamil Krzaczynski/USA Today Sports]
