Tony La Russa

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On the verge of his 32nd season in a major league dugout, much is known about Tony La Russa the manager. He's an innovator, an icon and most importantly, a winner. But beyond those closest to La Russa nobody truly knows that much about the man or his life.

Tony La Russa: Man on a Mission by Rob Rains, delves not only into the famed baseball mind of La Russa, but also the upbringing and sheltered personal life that helped shape La Russa into the man he is today. In the first full biography of La Russa, Man on a Mission goes behind the scenes to learn the influences behind La Russa's intensity and uncompromising focus, why winning every game possible is so important to him, and why he often puts the game ahead of his private life.

Man on a Mission gives you an exclusive look into the life and career of one of the most polarizing figures in the game, including:

• His first-hand experience with some of the most prevalent figures of the steroid era, including Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco
• La Russa's days growing up in the baseball hotbed of Tampa
• His bonus-baby status as an 18-year-old shortstop with the Kansas City Athletics
• The turbulent start to his managing career at the young age of 34, with Bill Veeck's Chicago White Sox
• La Russa's success on the field and controversy off of it in Oakland and St. Louis

In interviews with more than 50 relatives, childhood friends, former players, coaches, fellow managers, baseball executives and La Russa himself, veteran sportswriter Rob Rains paints a portrait of La Russa that reveals why he truly is a Man on a Mission.

About the Author:
Rob Rains has been writing about sports for more than 25 years. He is the author or co-author of 25 books and is a lifetime member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Baseball Writers Association of America. He formerly worked for United Press International, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and USA Today Baseball (now Sports) Weekly. Now a freelance writer, Rains also is an adjunct professor in the school of communications at Webster University. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Rains lives in St. Louis with his wife Sally and two sons, B.J. and Mike.

CONTACT: Josh Williams, Triumph Books, 312.252.1261, j.williams@triumphbooks.com

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