Tony La Russa did a great job managing the Chicago White Sox in 2021 if we exclude the month of April where he was tone-deaf at times and made bad decisions with his pitching and extra innings management. He really seemed to reel it in after that tough start and get the most out of his team.
We expect a lot from a manager who is in the Hall of Fame because of how legendary he is. Chances are that he is going to be good again in 2022 which is nice to know as well. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t deserve criticism at times.
On Monday, he was asked about the right-field situation with the White Sox and he gave a really rude answer. He said that fans who want the organization to add a right fielder are not White Sox fans. He claims that White Sox fans know that they have the guys at camp who can handle it.
That is a horrid take by Tony La Russa for a few different reasons. The first reason is that gatekeeping fans is so rude. Just because somebody has an opinion doesn’t mean that they aren’t a real fan. All we want to see is the White Sox win big, regardless of your takes on this stuff.
Fans who want White Sox to go outside organization for another RF “are probably not White Sox fans,” Tony La Russa said. “White Sox fans know we have guys in this camp who can handle it.”
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) March 28, 2022
Tony La Russa made an extremely rude comment about the fans on Monday.
It is also probably not his actual opinion on the right-field situation. Tony has been around the game enough to know that platooning two first basemen at right field isn’t the best possible idea. That would be proven if the White Sox signed someone like Michael Conforto because Tony would start him in right every day.
Andrew Vaughn was hurt in Sunday’s spring game which is why this is a hot topic right now. He deserves credit for being okay in left field last year but moving to right is completely different. Vaughn could probably do it okay as well but it will take time because it is much harder.
He isn’t very graceful out there and neither is Gavin Sheets. Platooning them out there might work to start but it shouldn’t be the permanent solution and Tony La Russa knows it. It was a rude comment in every way, shape, and form.