Why doesn’t a winner smile. That’s the first thing we wanted to know when we spoke with the third winningest manager in baseball history, Tony La Russa. We tried to find a picture of him smiling during all those winning years and couldn’t. He’ll tell us why in this edition of CNN Profiles.
La Russa will also help us baseball novices understand the game better – especially the part of the game that even diehard fans dismiss as boring. That time between pitches when it seems nothing’s going on. Wait until you hear what’s going on between pitches with something as simple as a man on first and a big game on the line.
And then there’s that space between the player’s ears. The psychology of the game. The resilience required when losing and striking out is such a regular part of the game.
La Russa retired last year after he led his St. Louis Cardinals, who barely made the playoffs, all the way to a World Series championship. He walks us through the huge load of information managers and coaches and players have to process to make the most of every single play.
And we ask him – of all the players on the field – who has to be the smartest of them all?
Listen to Tony La Russa, author of the new book “One Last Strike,” and you’ll have an edge understanding what you and your friends are watching as we head to the 2012 World Series.