Quote:
Originally Posted by perezfan
I know I'm in the minority here... But if ever there was a Manager who should be scrutinized for the use of steroids, it's LaRussa. Were any other teams in history more rampantly "using" than the 1990s Athletics or 2000s Cardinals?
At worst, he encouraged its usage, and at best he "turned a blind eye". Few could argue (with a straight face) that LaRussa was unaware of what was going on. If players like McGwire, Palmeiro and even Bagwell (who was never actually incriminated) are receiving incredibly low vote totals, shouldn't it stand to reason that LaRussa would as well?
I know he's been a very successful Manager over the years, but seems to me that the same rules should apply. You can say he's managed over 5,000 games, but McGwire's hit a whole bunch of Home Runs (playing for both of LaRussa's teams) and he's not getting in anytime soon.
I'm anticipating lots of dissenting opinions on this, but that's my 2 cents on LaRussa.
|
I completely agree with this line of thinking. Of the 3 modern managers we've mostly discussed here, Larussa AND Torre should both be questioned. Alongside your Big Mac and Palmeiro points, there were lots of Yankees on "the list" as well. Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Jason Grimsley, Glenallen Hill, etc. etc. etc. In my opinion, the only HOF manager from this era who DIDNT have a steroid problem on his team was Bobby Cox.