Few managers can claim they've managed 5,000 games. Then again, few managers are as storied as the Cardinals' Tony La Russa, who managed his 5,000th game on Friday.
"You got to be in great places to have this kind of longevity whether it's the White Sox, the A's and now the Cardinals," La Russa told Fox Sports Midwest after the game.
The Milwaukee Brewers shut out La Russa's Cardinals 8-0, but that doesn't overshadow La Russa's achievement. This is his 15th season with the Cardinals, and he has been managing in baseball for 34 years.
La Russa's professional career started in the Class-AA Southern League in 1978. His MLB career started with the Chicago White Sox in 1979. Then, he shifted between managing the Oakland Athletics and the White Sox for a while before sticking with Oakland.
In Oakland, La Russa won his first World Series title when the Athletics defeated the San Francisco Giants in 1989.
In 1996, La Russa joined the Cardinals, where he managed them to their 10th World Series championship in 2006. Along the way, he led the team to eight division titles and two NL pennants.
Overall, La Russa has a 2678-2322 record.
