The Royals' Mike Matheny didn’t have a future managing career on his mind when he played for Tony La Russa and the Cardinals in the early 2000s. But if he could go back, Matheny likely would have books filled with managerial advice from the Hall of Fame manager who made his return to the dugout this year.
On Thursday, the two faced each other in a game that counts for the first of 19 encounters between the American League Central opponents this season.
“I never necessarily had this case study going, thinking I want to manage someday,” Matheny, who played for St. Louis from 2000-04, said Thursday. “I wish I would have kept better notes, but you’re just so locked in on doing your job. … If I could go back again, knowing what I know now and being in the seat I am in, I would have loved to have had more of a dialogue, asking questions. But it wasn’t the right thing to do at the time. But trying to go back through and remember a lot of the things -- you’re talking about a Hall of Famer, and there are a lot of things that he did exceptionally well.”
When Matheny took over for La Russa in 2012 as the Cardinals manager, he leaned on La Russa for advice and continued conversations with him through the Commissioner’s Office, where La Russa worked part-time after his first retirement from managing. Matheny also kept in touch as La Russa joined the D-backs front office and then the Red Sox front office.
So Matheny wasn’t surprised at all when La Russa found his way back to a dugout.
“I was actually most surprised that it took this long,” Matheny said. “There was a lot of communication, just through him being with the Commissioner’s Office. And just hearing his voice and asking him questions, it was really more about him struggling with the idea of having to be with 30 teams instead of one, where he has spent so much of his life trying to set one group of people ahead of another. And that kind of competition, I knew he was missing that.
“You could tell he was still thinking as a manager. So I wasn’t surprised because I know how he’s wired. I know how sharp he is and how he continues to think how he thought before.”
There’s no heightened focus on Thursday’s matchup -- or any against the White Sox -- because Matheny wants to win every game. But La Russa said it’s “uncomfortable” facing someone he has a good relationship with, much like when he had to face his close friend and former Detroit manager, Jim Leyland. La Russa also managed a slew of Royals coaches with the Cardinals -- pitching coach Cal Eldred, hitting coach John Mabry and assistant hitting coach Terry Bradshaw. Also, first-base coach Rusty Kuntz was with the White Sox in La Russa’s first stint with Chicago.
“Mike is part of the family, like a son, but when you’ve got a family member you want them to have a good day,” La Russa said. “But we don’t want Mike to have a good day. He has a responsibility to make decisions for his club and his coaching staff, and I have to make the same for our club. You concentrate and you get through it, but it’s uncomfortable.”
Another twist Thursday was who the Royals faced on the mound -- former Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn, who was traded to Chicago over the offseason. Matheny managed Lynn from 2012-17.
“This guy’s a competitor,” Matheny said. “Watched Lance really take his game to another level, and got to know him on a personal level, too. You always try to with your players. But always tried to stay in touch with him. He’s a warrior. He goes about it the right way. He competes. We got our hands full today.”