The Pat McAfee Show, like so many other sports radio shows across the country, touched on Tony La Russa throwing one of his own Chicago White Sox players under the bus on Thursday. While the debate seems to be about old school vs. new school mentality in the sport, McAfee says it is about La Russa’s legacy within the game.
La Russa has come under fire for first apologizing for a home run Yermin Mercedes hit on a 3-0 pitch, while the White Sox were up by 11 on the Minnesota Twins. The manager doubled down on his assertion that Mercedes needed to face consequences for breaking one of baseball’s unwritten rules on Wednesday night, when he said that he had no problem with the Twins’ Tyler Duffey throwing a ball behind Mercedes in his first at bat of the night. That was a very different reaction than Major League Baseball had. The league office suspended Duffy the following day for three games.
“Listen Tony, you’re a great coach. You’ll just always be remembered as one who can’t adapt and evolve with his players,” Pat McAfee said. “You know who could do it? Bill Belichick. You know who could do it? Andy Reid. You know who could do it? Pete Carroll. You know who could do it? Nick Saban.”
Co-host AJ Hawk recounted a story about a friend, now in his fifties, that used to pitch in Major League Baseball. Hawk says the friend is very adamant that everything about the locker room is different in 2021 from what it was in the 1980s.
McAfee reiterated that the sport doesn’t matter. Great coaches and managers adjust to their talent to get the most out of them. He joked that maybe La Russa thinks burying his own guys is the best way to do that and the average person just can’t see the strategy involved.
The deference paid to rules that are not even real isn’t just a generational problem within the sport. McAfee says it is a problem for viewers too, because so few fans are actually offended by the sort of flamboyance that La Russa has such a problem with. He thinks letting players show some personality can only be good for baseball in the long run.
“That would be awesome if it was real competition,” McAfee said, alluding to the visual effect the unwritten rules have on baseball. “Real competitive people allowing themselves to be themselves.”
