If there was any concern about how dynamic shortstop Tim Anderson and old-school manager Tony La Russa might get along, Chicago White Sox fans can breathe a sigh of relief at the start of spring practice.
Anderson, who said with a laugh that he wouldn’t change ‘my style, the way I play’ after the White Sox hired 76-year-old La Russa in October, said he arrived at camp early to just sit down and play with talk to him. new manager.
27-year-old Anderson, who hit .322 in 2020 after winning the American League batting title in 2019, said he had the opportunity to get to know him, and he loves what he sees.
“Just to see what page he’s on is absolutely amazing,” Anderson told reporters Monday in Glendale, Arizona. “Just having a conversation with him, very motivating.
“He has the drive to want to win. I am behind him 110 percent. That is the ultimate goal: to win and win a World Series here. I am behind him.”
La Russa, in his second stint with the White Sox 34 years after they fired him, is 2,728-2,365 with six pennants for 33 seasons at Chicago, Oakland and St. Louis. Only Hall of Famers Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGray (2,762) have more wins.
But he hasn’t filled in a lineup card since the Cardinals defeated Texas in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, and he knows it very well.
“One of the players asked me, ‘Hey, you were nervous [after addressing the team Monday]? La Russa said. ‘I said,’ Yes. ‘… It means you care and you understand that the unknown is out there. The challenge of the competition. “
Anderson said, “I think he’s pretty solid. Everything’s been great so far. The things he’s preached has been good. I think we’ve got the right man. I hope.”
La Russa is no stranger to managing great personalities. He had Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco in Oakland. And his closer there, Dennis Eckersley, was known for pumping his fist, pointing at opponents and firing imaginary weapons at them after strikeouts.
Anderson said he’s gotten to a point where he can “tell him anything I want” after their one-on-one meeting.
“I’m not afraid of him,” Anderson joked. “Tell him that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.