Much respect between Melvin, La Russa

For the first time since the 2020 AL Wild Card Series, the A’s and White Sox are facing each other, and there’s a big change in the Sox dugout.

Tony La Russa, who managed the Athletics from 1986 to 1995 and led them to two AL pennants and a World Series championship in 1989, is at the helm in Chicago -- his first season as a manager since retiring after the 2011 season.

La Russa has worked around baseball in various capacities since, and one person he has kept an eye on during those years is A’s manager Bob Melvin.

“I've watched him a lot, I know him,” La Russa said. “I would say there is no better manager in Major League Baseball now than Bob, and he proves it year in and year out.”

Melvin has managed the A’s since taking over during the 2011 season, bringing Oakland to the postseason six times in that span. In this week’s four-game series, the two managers will face each other for the first time since La Russa came out of retirement.

Though they will be on opposite sides of the diamond, La Russa and Melvin both live in the Bay Area during the offseason, and they take every opportunity to talk baseball.

“I’ve gotten to see him quite a bit, and I always pick his brain,” Melvin said. “Even when he was working for MLB or working for another team, we always find time to catch up, and he always finds time for me to ask questions to him.”

Melvin credits some of his managerial style to learning from La Russa. In particular, Melvin said he has seen over the years the way that La Russa manages based on his team’s strengths, rather than trying to get his roster to fit a preconceived mold.

“If he’s got teams that run, he’ll run if he’s got guys that are able to do that,” Melvin said. “If not, they’ll play to the strengths of their teams, and I probably got that from him more than anybody else.”

This is a managerial quality that has served Melvin well, given the frequency of roster turnover in Oakland. It’s worked, and Melvin’s success in consistently getting his team to the playoffs speaks to how well.

But even with Melvin’s own success -- he has been named Manager of the Year in both leagues -- he still jumps at the chance to chat with La Russa and continue to hone his craft.

“How can you not? He’s a Hall of Famer whose baseball acumen is off the charts,” Melvin said. “This guy was an institution wherever he’s been. Hall of Fame manager, one of the greats of all time. So every chance I get to, I try to take a little bit from him.”