When Tony La Russa became manager of the Oakland Athletics in 1986, Walter
A. Haas Jr. and his family owned the team and instilled the belief among
members of the franchise that they needed to give back to the community.
That Haas family philosophy inspired La Russa.
"His baseball team was not going to take from the community; it
was going to give back," La Russa said. Haas did not dictate what
members of the organization should get involved with, La Russa recalled.
"He said, 'Pick your passion.' "
Baseball, obviously, is up there on La Russa's list of passions.
From February to October, La Russa is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals
and a good one. Last year, he was named National League Manager of the
Year after his team won the division title
Back home in Alamo, La Russa and his wife, Elaine, who have two daughters,
have been passionate about children's causes, the performing arts, education
and, as many in the East Bay and around the country have learned, animals.
La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek has helped thousands
of animals find homes – and thousands of people find companionship.
He and his wife are animal lovers, so he wanted to find a way to help
outside of existing efforts to rescue and place animals in homes. Twelve
years after it was created, the foundation now has members in 50 states
and outside the United States.
La Russa feels the foundation is "on the cutting edge of animal
rescue" because, as he explains it, the group saves people as well
as animals by placing needy animals with needy children, victims of violence
and elderly people.
"All of a sudden, our animal rescue includes people rescue by the
animals," he says.
Responding to his wife and two daughters' love of dance, La Russa has
also been a solid supporter of the California Symphony, the Oakland Ballet
and Contra Costa County's flamenco dance group, Brisas de España.
His message for other business managers and executives in the East Bay?
"I would encourage them to follow the lessons of the Haas family,"
he says. "You have your professional life and personal life, but
unless you live on top of a mountain, you're a member of this society,
this community, and you are a taker," he says. "There's a fairness
to giving back."
La Russa, who played for the Kansas City A's in 1963 and was one of only
three 18-year-olds to start as shortstop in a major league game, extended
the Haas philosophy to St. Louis with Cardinal Care, which funds needy
causes in the Midwest.
La Russa finds community support as rewarding and as important as his
job.
"I think what I do from February to October is as demanding as just
about anybody's job, I'm not saying more demanding, but as demanding,"
he says.
But when he returns to the Bay Area, he says, he gets rejuvenated not
by resting or watching television, but by doing good deeds.
"I think we can all tackle more than we do," he says.
