Baseball, Tony La Russa | featured news

The St. Louis Cardinals are replacing a manager who's third on the career victory list with a man who'll be writing his first lineup card on opening day. Mike Matheny, a former catcher with the Cardinals who had been a minor league instructor, will be introduced as Tony La Russa's successor at a news conference Monday.

Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, announced Monday he is retiring after 33 seasons as a manager in professional baseball. The Cardinals capped an improbable comeback last week by defeating the Texas Rangers to win the World Series.

The starting pitcher had carried the game all the way to the seventh inning, a rare luxury for the St. Louis Cardinals this postseason, and with a one-run lead and nine outs to go, the 46,406 in attendance Wednesday night at Busch Stadium, home of the savviest fans in baseball, could practically pinch-manage the rest of Game 1 of the World Series for Tony La Russa.