Tony La Russa, his power in the organization diminished, explained why he plans to stick with the Diamondbacks, who on Monday officially introduced General Manager Mike Hazen as La Russa’s replacement atop baseball operations.
“There was one dominant, overpowering priority that haunted me all season and if I left it would haunt me the rest of my life, and that is we had a plus-20 margin of losses over wins,” La Russa said. “As I made clear, I’m supposed to impact that. To leave with that kind of season record, it’s very tough to take. I appreciate the fact that I can be a part of making it better.