Tony La Russa, the Hall of Famer who won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics and two more with the St. Louis Cardinals, is returning to manage the Chicago White Sox -- 34 years after they fired him.

La Russa, 76, rejoins the franchise where his managing career began more than four decades ago. He takes over for Rick Renteria after what the White Sox insisted was a mutual agreement to split.

"We are extremely excited about the future of this team,'' general manager Rick Hahn said Thursday.”As we showed in 2020, this is a young, talented club that we expect to only grow better and better in the coming years. Adding in a Hall of Fame manager who is recognized as being one of the best in the history of the game, we are a step closer to our goal of bringing White Sox fans another championship.''

La Russa becomes the oldest manager in the major leagues by five years. Houston's Dusty Baker is 71.

La Russa, who started his managing career with the White Sox during the 1979 season, is returning to the dugout for the first time since 2011 when he led St. Louis past the Texas Rangers in the World Series. He also won championships with Oakland in 1989 and the Cardinals in 2006.

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