Right player Gavin Sheets had a chat with manager Tony La Russa during batting practice on Tuesday, two hours before the Chicago White Sox played the Kansas City Royals.
Less than an hour before kick-off, the Sox announced that La Russa would do so Miss the match under the direction of his doctors.
“I was with him all day,” Sheets said Wednesday. “Kind of shocked by that. He looked fine all day.”
The Sox announced Wednesday that La Russa will be out indefinitely and is scheduled to undergo further tests with doctors in Arizona.
Died Kendall Grafman said: “As a team and as a player, I wish him nothing but the best of health and wellness and whatever it takes for his immediate future and moving forward. This is clearly where our hearts and minds are. Hopefully we can bring the best doctors around to see what’s going on. “.
USA TODAY Bob Nightingale She reported that La Rosa, 77, recently had tests with a cardiologist, and the recommendation was not to play on Tuesday. Nightingale reported that after further testing on Wednesday, La Rosa was advised to see cardiologists.
“I spoke to him (Wednesday), he’s fine,” Sox coach Miguel Cairo said on the bench. But his doctor is in Arizona. They have all the information about his doctor, and we’ll know later in the week what’s going on.”
Cairo, who managed to lose on Tuesday 9-7, will continue to make up for it.
“Health and family,” Grafman said. “You guys see us a lot in uniforms and you see us on the field doing our work and preparing every day to be the best baseball players we can, and Tony was preparing to be the best coach he could. But at the end of it all, out of traveling (between) different cities and fit in every day and go to battle with each other. Some, we have families, we have people who are dear to us and have been through all of this together.It really puts baseball in perspective.
“I understand we want to compete and win and prepare and do our best, and that’s what he pays us to do. But there are things that I feel are vital and more important than playing baseball. He has to be with his family and taking care of himself at the moment.”
Some players, such as soccer player/first base player Andrew Vaughn, discovered the news on Tuesday via social media.
“I saw the White Sox posted something, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” Vaughn said. This is madness.’ And then we had to go play.
We were trying to talk about it, trying to figure out what was going on. They mentioned a few things, maybe his heart. Only health. very scary. “
La Russa in the second season of his second assignment with Sox. Last season they won their first top-flight title since 2008, but this year has been rife with injuries and inconsistencies. The Sox entered Wednesday’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field as third in the MLS, with three games under 0.500.
La Russa occupies the second place of all time among the managers of the major leagues with 2,884 wins. The 2014 Hall of Fame recruit won world championship titles with Oakland Athletics (1989) and St. Louis Cardinals (2006, 2011).
“You look at his record and he represents himself,” Grafman said. “Maybe he’s forgotten baseball more than I ever know. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to, seeing him show up every day and go to work and work really hard. And his willingness (his desire) to win, he lived and died winning and losing. He still cares. I’m sure he Still watching and following.
“When we lost, it really hurt him, and when we won, he was really excited for us. I think he was more excited not for his sake but for the team as a whole when we won. He was disappointed and always thought what he could have done better to make us win when we lost. So. I respect him for that.”
La Russa managed the Sox team from 1979 to 1986 and back for 2021 hoping to take a talented young team to the next level after eliminating the Sox on the Wild Card Tour in 2020.
The Sox made the playoffs last season but were eliminated in the AL series by the Houston Astros in four games.
Expected to be one of the best teams in baseball this season, the Sox instead found themselves behind the leading Cleveland Guardians by six games on the last day of August.
“First of all prayer for (La Rosa),” said Sheets. “You’re just praying for him, praying for a speedy recovery. We don’t know the full details of what’s going on, but most importantly we want to get some wins…so when he comes back, wherever that may be, we hope to be in a better place in the playoffs.”
“I loved playing with him. He taught me a lot. He was a great teacher for me, especially when I was a young player. From the first day I got on, he kind of brought me under his wing, showed me the ropes and learned from him all the way. I want to see him come back faster. Available time “.
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