Tony La Russa can trace his relationship with Dave Stewart all the way back to the very first game he managed for the Oakland Athletics, when he pulled the recently acquired right-handed reliever out of the bullpen to start against Roger Clemens in the summer of 1986.<\/p>\n
Stewart beat Clemens and went on help the A\u2019s to three straight trips to the World Series while becoming \u201clike a brother from another mother,\u201d according to La Russa.<\/p>\n
Along the way, the Hall-of-Fame manager learned of a hidden talent that Stewart only revealed when the clubhouse doors closed, or maybe after a couple drinks at dinner. He has kept the secret closely guarded for nearly 40 years. Until now.<\/p>\n
You could say \u201cSmoke\u201d has pipes. That\u2019s right: Stewart can sing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always kidded that when he gets excited, he sounds like the Bee Gees,\u201d La Russa said of Stewart, now 68, who is better known for his imposing stare and impressive fastball that led him to a no-hitter and a World Series MVP. \u201cI\u2019m confident that he\u2019s got \u2014 what\u2019s the word? He\u2019s got good range.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stewart will show off that range publicly for the first time next Saturday with a band that includes members of Santana, the Who, Huey Lewis and the News, and the Doobie Brothers, unveiling his vocal stylings at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek for the La Russa Rescue Champions\u2019 nonprofit fundraiser to support animal welfare.<\/p>\n
La Russa can remember \u201cmany, many times, if we were at a social event and there was music, he\u2019d be next to me and I could hear him singing the lyrics from the songs, especially if they were Motown.\u201d His debut performance will lean more soft and soulful: Two songs by Chris Stapleton and one Bill Withers number.<\/p>\n
A longtime East Bay resident, La Russa has put on the fundraiser for years, often involving Stewart in one way or another. He had stepped on the mound for La Russa so many times, but never had Stewart stepped on stage with a band, in front of an audience.<\/p>\n
Like many good stories, it began with a pair of old friends on a golf course.<\/p>\n
La Russa and Stewart don\u2019t hit the links often, but they found themselves in a foursome in the Phoenix area one day last spring. La Russa, now 81 and fully recovered from cancer treatment, was entering his third season as a senior advisor for the White Sox, while Stewart was working for the A\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made a bet, and there were some consequences for whoever lost,\u201d La Russa said. \u201cIf Stew lost, he was going to have to sing at this event. I actually told him in October, I said, \u2018Look man, I\u2019m not going to ruin our friendship over a stupid bet. You don\u2019t have to do it.\u2019 And he said, \u2018I\u2019m singing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Commendable as Stewart\u2019s insistence is to hold up his end of the bargain, the punishment is far more preferable \u2014 and probable to pull off \u2014 than what La Russa hypothetically would have had to endure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the next A\u2019s-White Sox game, I would have had to kiss his (expletive) at home plate before the first pitch,\u201d La Russa said. \u201cI would have found a way to avoid that. Stew is more honorable than I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dusty Baker, Jose Canseco and Dennis Eckersley are expected to attend the Jan. 17 event, which also includes performances by Tony Lindsay of Santana and \u201cPhantom of the Opera\u201d singer Franc D\u2019Ambrosio, as well as a panel discussion looking back on big moments from the careers of Stewart and others.<\/p>\n
A night earlier at the Lesher Center, on Jan. 16, La Russa will host \u201cA Night of Honor,\u201d featuring actor Sam Elliott and honoring the military and first responders, including Command Seargant Major Gretchen Evans.<\/p>\n
Walter Haas, the former A\u2019s president, purchased a group of tickets so that some former club employees could attend, La Russa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a kind of reunion,\u201d said La Russa, whose career in baseball now spans seven decades. Debuting at 18 years old for the Kansas City Athletics, his relationship with the franchise dates back even further than its tie to Oakland. He was there when the A\u2019s arrived at the Coliseum in 1968 and spent parts of five seasons as a part-time middle infielder. He returned to manage in 1986 and led the \u201cBash Brothers\u201d era A\u2019s to three straight American League pennants \u2014 and the 1989 World Series title.<\/p>\n
That history occurred in Oakland. The A\u2019s play in West Sacramento now, en route to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always felt like the success of the franchise and the support of the fans was as good as any place, so there\u2019s a disappointment\u201d in the A\u2019s leaving Oakland,\u201d La Russa said. \u201cThere was all that talk about going to San Jose. I wish that had happened. We always thought that if Oakland didn\u2019t work we could move to Pleasanton or Livermore, just because the fan base is so strong. Now it\u2019s Las Vegas, and I can\u2019t say that we\u2019re not disappointed. But we\u2019re still with the A\u2019s wherever they go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heart problems forced La Russa to retire from his 35-year managerial career midway through 2022, and he began undergoing treatment for cancer shortly thereafter. He had surgery in January 2023 and that spring began his new advisory role with the White Sox. That summer, he attended the Hall of Fame ceremony in Cooperstown, \u201cand I remember, I saw pictures of me and thought, \u2018I should\u2019ve stayed home.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cThat first year was (difficult),\u201d La Russa said. \u201cBut I\u2019m feeling better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Less than a month after the fundraiser, pitchers and catchers will report to Arizona for spring training. So will La Russa. He plans to be in camp with the White Sox in the first part of February. Recently, he exchanged texts with Joe Torre, who now works in the league office, about the upcoming labor negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been my life forever,\u201d La Russa said. \u201cIt\u2019s the only thing I know how to do, so it\u2019s fortunate I\u2019ve been able to stay connected to (the game).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tony La Russa can trace his relationship with Dave Stewart all the way back to the very first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2391],"tags":[537,5,2178,1296,4,3226,63,185,5827],"class_list":{"0":"post-513404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athletics","8":"tag-athletics","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-mlb-athletics","14":"tag-oakland-athletics","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-things-to-do"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115871664420865906","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}