Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa has been a polarizing figure so far this season.
Although the 76-year-old skipper has his White Sox in first place in the American League Central, many believe he is not the right man for the job.
Already this season, La Russa admittedly did not understand the extra-innings free base-runner rule, costing the White Sox a game with his decision to put a pitcher as the runner at second base.
La Russa also controversially said publicly on Tuesday that he had no issue with reliever Tyler Duffey intentionally throwing at Yermin Mercedes.
If you missed the story, Mercedes homered in the ninth inning the previous day on a 3-0 pitch in a 15-4 game with a position player pitching.
La Russa is 76 years old, so it’s safe to call him an old-timer.
Truthfully, that’s part of the problem.
It seems as if La Russa has already lost the locker room according to recent reports.
If the White Sox do decide to move on from La Russa, who are some potential candidates for their next hire?
Willie Harris
The White Sox interviewed Willie Harris during their managerial search before settling on La Russa.
He’s currently the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs, but he was the Cincinnati Reds’ base-running and outfield coordinator at the time of his interview with the White Sox.
Harris has head managerial experience at the minor league level. He spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, an affiliate of the San Fransisco Giants.
That’s all, though, and the knock on Harris’ case as a Major League manager is indeed his lack of experience.
However, the case for Harris is a strong one.
Harris is a 42-year-old former player who brings youthful energy to every organization he is with.
Check out the tweet below, which shows Harris going all out to ensure his base-runner dives to get under the tag at third base.
Willie Harris 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 https://t.co/wbZH6DB0ia
— Adbert Alzolay (@adbert29) March 23, 2021
Harris is a textbook players’ manager, something the White Sox have gone many years without.
If hired, Harris would join 39-year-old Rocco Baldelli has two of the youngest managers in the game.
Luis Urueta
Luis Urueta is another young candidate who would bring some fresh energy to the locker room.
Urueta, 40, was interviewed by the Boston Red Sox last offseason.
Many people within the Red Sox organization had great things to say about Urueta, but ultimately, it felt like Boston was going to bring back Alex Cora all long.
What one gets back from the Arizona folks on Luis Urueta as candidate for Red Sox managerial job:
"Really Smart."
"Great guy, good candidate for me."
"Very prepared, perfect in this age."
Learning from the current Diamondbacks organization, which is really good— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) February 1, 2020
Urueta has a unique managerial resume.
He coached Colombia in the 2013 World Baseball Classic as well as in the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifiers.
He has been with the Arizona Diamondbacks in a variety of capacities since 2017.
Urueta has worked in the Arizona system as a minor league coach/coordinator and as a bench coach at the Major League level.
An offer to be the manager of a big-league club would likely draw Urueta away from the Diamondbacks, and if he were to accept it, he would become the first Colombian-born full-time manager in MLB history.
NEXT: 3 Reasons Tony La Russa Is The Wrong Man In Chicago
Cathy says
The white sox need to let Tony la russa go and hire Bruce bochy la russa had nothing to do with the white sox winning the division they also need to get rid of the Ayers they keep signing can’t the front office see they aren’t winning with them white sox needs very much a new rotation as well maybe new uniforms could not hurt