Former Major League Baseball managers Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre are all heading to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as all three of them were voted in unanimously by the Expansion Era Committee.They will be inducted during a ceremony in Cooperstown, New York on July 27. La Russa, Torre and Cox are ranked numbers three, four and five in MLB history when it comes to wins for a manager. Each of them won over 2,000 contests with their respective teams.
Torre has won four World Series with the New York Yankees and is one of just five managers ever to win the title four times. La Russa won the World Series three times in his career, once with the Oakland As and twice with the St. Louis Cardinals. Cox won the title with Atlanta in 1995 and also led the Braves to 14 consecutive division championships.
In total, La Russa won 2,728 games, while Cox won 2,504 and Torre was victorious 2,326 times. The only managers to win more games in MLB history were Connie Mack with 3,731 and John McGraw who won 2,763 Games.
Bud Selig, the MLB's commissioner, said he’s thrilled that the three managers were all active during his reign as the head of baseball, and they all fully deserve spots in Cooperstown. He stated that the three managers were all consistent and showed had incredibly long careers in the game.
“For decades, these three individuals not only led great ball clubs, but instilled in their teams a brand of class and professionalism that baseball fans admired," he said.
La Russa had a career record of 2,728-2,365 for a winning percentage of .536. Cox’s career mark was 2,504-2,001 for a .556 winning percentage and Joe Torre managed mark of 2,326-1,997 for a .538 percentage.
With the tree of them being elected to Cooperstown, it now means that the 10 winningest managers in MLB history are now all in the Hall of Fame. La Russa, Torre and Cox entered the Hall after being named on at least 12 of the 16 ballots.
There were other candidates on the ballot who failed to get enough votes this time around, which included former players Tommy John, Dave Concepcion, Dave Parker, Steve Garvey, Ted Simmons and Dan Quisenberry along with former manager Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner, the former controversial owner of the New York Yankees.
Torre said he’s honored to be elected, since it means other baseball people are happy with his body of work over the years. He added that it means a lot to him to be recognized for his achievements by his peers.
The 16 committee members on the Expansion Era electorate are all former baseball people, with some of them also being Hall of Famers. Some of the members are Carlton Fisk, Rod Carew, Whitey Herzog, Joe Morgan, Tommy Lasorda, Phil Niekro, Frank Robinson and Paul Molitor.
Congrats to Torre, Cox and La Russa!
