La Russa gets Presidential call
Manager Tony La Russa was spending time with some of his best and furriest friends Thursday morning when his phone twittered. There are few calls that take him away from a tour of an animal rescue shelter or a conversation about the need to have and hold and save pets.
This was one.
“That was the White House,” the manager explained. “The President wants me to greet him at the airport.”
Post-Dispatch staff writer par excellence Elizabethe Holland was kind enough to provide the on-the-spot reporting for this blog entry. La Russa told us yesterday that he would spend part of his off day at Stray Rescue of St. Louis as it was competing for a $1-million makeover of its shelter. Judges for the contest were in town today and a festival of sorts welcomed them. Supporters brought their animals and La Russa was one of several local two-legged celebrities in attendance.
The winner of the contest will be announced May 21 in USA Today.
It was during a tour of the facility that La Russa’s phone rang with the invitation from the White House. President George W. Bush is visiting St. Louis on Air Force One on Friday (read more about it over at Jo Mannies’ “Political Fix”), and he wondered if La Russa had the time to meet him at the airport.
La Russa has a previous engagement Friday night, but said he’d be happy to be at the airport Friday morning to see Air Force One pull in.
The manager and the former owner of the Texas Rangers have crossed paths many times since both of them left the American League for other endeavors. Bush threw out the first pitch at old Busch a few seasons ago, emerging from the dugout at just about the same spot La Russa stood for all those years. And, after the 2006 World Series victory, Bush hosted the Cardinals at the White House.
Then-shortstop David Eckstein once told me about being pulled aside into a room at the White House to stand with La Russa, then-general manager Walt Jocketty, and chair Bill DeWitt Jr. as they waited for the President. Those five would be the last people to go to the dais, and they had some time to kill.
“The President came in,” Eckstein said, “and had all these questions for us. He just wanted to talk a little baseball.”
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Well, at least we know he keeps on baseball, if not the actually important stuff his job entails.
Maybe he wants to talk about the Animal Shelter. Shows what you know, you inane little moron you…
I wonder if Tony will look at him with his head slightly cocked to the side and ask point blank: “Are you lookin’ for trouble?” LOL!!
The inane little moron that is the president of the United States, George W. Bush, has the highest DISAPPROVAL rating of ANY modern president. 71% of the United States disapproves of his job as president. The saddest experience that I have ever had as a Cardinal fan is seeing W with the birds on bats on his chest that opening day a few years ago.
At least he can’t steal a third election.
The only real leader in that meeting will be Tony LaRussa!!!
Well said Dan. Agreed 100%. LaRussa should be asking ole GW if he would like to meet HIM at the airport, not the other way around.
Dan….leave your personal feelings out of this. I’m sure if you were your political persuasions candiadte for President or had been elected President, you’d be using your pull for this like this. I am so tired of people like your esorting to name calling(hence the inane little moron comment) when it comes to President Bush. Saddest experience I’ve ever had as a Cardinals fan is knwoing that people like you let politics come into your ballgame watching. Let’s keep the two seperate.
71% of americans may not approve of the job PRESIDENT George W. Bush has done but that is probably the same 71% that also couldn’t trouble themselves to vote. We should also realize that he did manage to 1)own part of a Major League Baseball team and 2)become the leader of the United States of America… not exactly the easiest things to do…
Worst president ever! I will ALWAYS continue to comment as long as he continues to support and create policies that not only do not support the poor of our country and other countires, but kill them.
People failing to connect their leisure activities with the treatment of the poor only ensures that the poor will continue to be ignored!
I will let continue to FORCE my politics to be involved in my life as a diehard lifelong Cardinals fan so long as politics show up at Busch, which they ALWAYS will!
Mike,
Your arguement has no logic. You are making an assumption that has no grounding. Do you really think that people who do not vote would waste their time filling out a political poll?
The TRUTH is that 71% of the United States disapproves of the job that he has done. I could not care less that he took on two difficult job if he sucked at them! I could take on a difficult job and fail at it. His Rangers were terrible. He traded away a future member of the 600 homerun club and THEN put the US in a war that we CANNOT win which has led to the death of THOUSANDS! AND we are in the midst of a very scary recession that will effect the poorest among us more than anyone else. Hell, I could be a bad owner of an MLB team and a bad president!
Jason,
You want be to leave my personal feeling, but you write about your personal feelings?! I am confused why you can do that, but I can not. Please explain!
I am so tired of people saying that those who are critical of the job of this president should not voice their opinion.
I will continue…