The first baseman of the White socks from Chicago, Jose Abreu, believes that Tony La Russa He will return to lead the team next season.
“I didn’t have any conversation with him about it, but I’m pretty sure he will come back,” Abreu said, according to Maddie Lee of NBC Sports Chicago. “He will not leave us alone. He will be with us ”.
Abreu’s comments come a day after the Houston Astros eliminated Chicago in the American League Division Series. Following the loss, La Russa said he was unsure whether he would coach the White Sox again in 2022 and would like to leave the decision to the players.
“I’m not going to talk about myself,” he said. “The process that I used once I was a little confident, probably around the fifth or sixth year, is ‘do they want you back?’ I’m leaving if you don’t want me to come back. They say yes, then you ask the players. They must choose who they want as a manager. If you get both, then you will see yourself. “
“It was a natural reaction,” Abreu said. “That is the kind of reaction I would have if something happened to one of my children. Tony was trying to protect me, and he’s always trying to protect us. “
Despite all this, Abreu supports La Russa, who raged at the umpires during Wednesday’s game after accusing the Astros of hitting his first baseman on purpose.
Chicago brought in La Russa to manage this campaign after he initially spent eight years with the White Sox as their patron from 1979 to 1986. Franchise owner Jerry Reinsdorf made the decision to rehire La Russa and qualified the previous dismissal of the manager as his greatest regret.
The 77-year-old’s hiring came under fire after the discovery that he had been charged with driving under the influence a day before Chicago announced that he would become its manager.
There were also concerns about how he would relate to sassy young stars like Tim Anderson, and an additional midseason incident involving Yermin Mercedes did not sit well with players for the White Sox and other clubs.