Tony LaRussa On Creating An Winning Atmosphere

Former St. Louis Cardinal’s manager and hall of fame member, Tony LaRussa thinks the biggest challenge in leading a team today is having players fight through the distractions and concentrate on true professionalism. Even as low as the high school level of sports, players today get too distracted by the chance to make money, so they chase statistics and attention. So players really need to fight through all of that and really stress being as good a professional as they can be and the rest of the stuff falls in place.

To assist in helping players manage these distractions LaRussa maintained a close relationship with Bob Ladouceur, the highly successful high school football coach at De La Salle High in Concord, CA. “From talking with Bob I learned so much about his relationships with the players and the importance of the process. The winning is a result of doing a lot of things right. He's really been great. I've tried to adjust some of our philosophies based on things or tips Bob has suggested.

“We encouraged egos because we encouraged players to take their jobs very personal. If you're a pitcher you have competition against a hitter. If you're a hitter you have competition against a pitcher. So ego is very important. Ego lets you prove to yourself that you're good enough to play in the big leagues, to be a part of our club. But, this is a team competition. We tried to preach the message that it's about our team and each one of us has a contribution to make.”

It’s about creating the right atmosphere. LaRussa tried to impart that everyone--from the players, to the coaches, to the staff and front office people is a part of a big team and each part of the team contributes something, to put the players in a position to produce. “The whole thing is about competition - our team against their team - and you're trying to maximize your chances to win. That's what we all tried to do as an organization. Instead of taking away from each other, and in effect different parts, we must have a scenario where everybody really does well. That doesn't happen every place.”

To help ensure that everyone is helping to create an atmosphere of cooperation, LaRussa looked for certain traits when assembling a coaching staff. What I was most pleased about is that most of the guys on the staffs I've been on became friends after we worked together. They were not friends first and that's how they got the job. We look at certain expertise because there is a lot of teaching nowadays in the big leagues. Players get here in a hurry. So you have to be able to teach them. Secondly, there needs to be a personality that turns players on. You don't want to turn them off. You can be quiet; you can be funny. There just has to be something there. A lot of it has to do with sincerity. And finally, we insisted that the coaches live and die with the results. They just couldn't come in with their expertise and say, "I coach and whatever happens, happens." We wanted them excited if we win and suffer if we lose. That's the kind of criteria we wanted, says LaRussa. “The love of the game and the desire to learn it. I think that is critical.” This desire is what fosters the vigor necessary to consistently work to develop a winning atmosphere.

—Adapted From Coach and Athletic Director, A Beautiful Mind St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa is baseball's best strategist by Kenny Ratledge and Kevin Newell 

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One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season