Random Topps Card of the Day: 2001 Topps #349 Tony LaRussa

Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Tuesday, October 23, 2012:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 2001 Topps #349.
• Player Name, position, team: Tony LaRussa, manager, St. Louis Cardinals.
• Major League Debut: May 10, 1963. Managerial Debut: August 03, 1979.
• Last Line of Statistics: 2000 stats (Cardinals): 95-67 managerial record.
• Any special information about manager: Hired as Manager 10/23/1995.
• Any special information about this specific card: LaRussa's seventeenth regular Topps card, fourteenth as a manager (total includes both Topps and Topps Traded cards). 
• Commentary:  The 50th and real Golden Anniversary Topps set featured green borders, which varied by shade (some cards were light green, others a darker green), depending on the sheet the card was printed.  To celebrate, Topps brought back manager cards, which were last seen in the 1993 Topps set (and at that, the cards featured two managers).  There has been so much written about Mr. LaRussa, good and bad, over the years that it would take a few books to cover it all, and still would do the man justice.  Let's just say that Mgr. LaRussa had been in the business for 22 seasons when this card came out, and he would continue to do so for 11 more.  He holds the distinction of being the winningest manager in both Oakland Athletics (note I didn't say Athletics) and St. Louis Cardinals' history.  He ranks third all-time (behind Connie Mack and John McGraw) in wins with 2,728 victories (to go with 2,365 losses).  He has helmed three World Series winning teams (the A's in 1989 and the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011).  He is a four-time Manager of the Year.  In 2001, both the Cardinals and the Houston finished the season with identical 93-69 seasons.  The reason why the Cardinals were not officially named NL Champs is because the 'Stros won the season series against them.  But all was not lost for the St. Louis faithful.  It was that year that the city, and all of Major League Baseball, were introduced to a young player who would become one of the most popular players in the 21st century.  That man was Albert Pujols.  The rest is history.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $0.07-$0.20.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 34 cards.

Tomorrow's card will be: 2009 Topps #623. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. We're looking back at a card from 2009 here on the blog tomorrow.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama