Legendary retired managers Tony La Russa, Joe Torre and Bobby Cox have all been unanimously elected to the MLB National Baseball Hall of Fame, ensuring that there will be an induction ceremony in Cooperstown in July.
The managers, who rank third, fourth and fifth on the all-time wins list, were elected in on their first ballots by the Expansion Era Veterans Committee, reports the New York Daily News. La Russa has 2,728 wins, behind only Connie Mack and John McGraw. He has three World Championships, winning with the Oakland A’s in 1989 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2011.
Torre is best known for his time managing the New York Yankees, winning six American League pennants from 1996 to 2007. He took the team to World Series Championships four times.
As for Cox, he led the Atlanta Braves to an amazing 14 straight National League East division titles and won the World Series in 1995. Cox has 2,504 wins and Torre has 2,326.
“I am thrilled that these great managers during my tenure as Commissioner will join the legends of our game in the halls of Cooperstown," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement posted at MLB.com. "In careers of consistent excellence and incredible longevity, Bobby, Tony and Joe all left indelible impacts on our national pastime. For decades, these three individuals not only led great ballclubs, but instilled in their teams a brand of class and professionalism that baseball fans admired. It is fitting that Bobby, Tony and Joe will share our game's highest honor together.”
The election of the three legendary managers means that there will be some living inductees at the Hall of Fame ceremony on July 28. Baseball writers did not elect any players to the Hall of Fame this year and the Veterans Committee elected deceased legends Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert, umpire Hank O'Day and 19th Century catcher Deacon White.
image: Wikimedia Commons
