Gotta be honest; I thought Tony La Russa retired. I thought he called it career when he left the Cardinals nine years ago.

Apparently not, because Thursday he was named the White Sox new manager, at the age of 76.

From ESPN:

CHICAGO — Tony La Russa, the Hall of Famer who won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics and two more with the St. Louis Cardinals, is returning to manage the Chicago White Sox 34 years after they fired him.

The 76-year-old La Russa rejoins the franchise where his managing career began more than four decades ago. He takes over for Rick Renteria after what the White Sox insisted was a mutual agreement to split.

La Russa is now the oldest manager in the majors, beating out Dusty Baker by five years. He’s the second manager in MLB history to coach a team at the age of 75 or older, following in the footsteps of Jack McKeon, who returned to the Marlins for the 2011 season before retiring.

The White Sox are pretty good and recently made the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, couple of starting pitchers under the age of 26 – Tony is inheriting a solid roster but he’s been out of the game for so long that it makes me wonder how he’s gonna connect with these guys.

Anyway, welcome back, Tony La Russa.