Diamondbacks Hire Tony LaRussa

The Arizona Diamondbacks confused everyone this week by announcing that they have hired Tony La Russa as Chief Baseball Officer. The legendary 69-year-old former manager and three time World Series champion (1989 Oakland, 2006 & 2011 St. Louis) joins a team desperately in need of some guidance.

Can La Russa help build a winning organization?

The title of "Chief Baseball Officer" sounds made up, but what it might signify is a major shake-up in management. Perhaps the dual GM experiment isn't working, as rumors fly surrounding one of the GM's level of involvement in team decisions. If the team were to remove one of the acting General Managers, likely Mr. Schroeer, La Russa could take on a bigger role in the organization.


Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall has made it clear that La Russa will report directly to him, placing him above the beleaguered GMs, and control the entire Baseball Operations department. Hall spoke to the media regarding La Russa's involvement :

“The entire organization is obviously frustrated with the results on the field and we are looking to improve… Tony brings us a wealth of knowledge, experience and success, and will work closely with Bert, Andrew and Kirk in evaluating our current state to determine the future of our baseball operations. He is excited and enthusiastic about the challenge, and we are fortunate to have this Hall of Famer on board and a part of the team.”

Few, if any, believe that La Russa has been brought in to take over for Manager Kirk Gibson, but things could be looking bad for him as well if the team continues to struggle. The 50 years of baseball experience La Russa brings to Arizona will be valuable, but it isn't clear if that experience is going to help engineer a total rebuild or just an executive clean out.