It’s not that Tony La Russa is old, it’s that he’s an ass

Apologies for all of those times this year calling Tony La Russa a dinosaur, because the White Sox manager continues to innovate, even at the age of 76, coming up with newer and better ways to demonstrate that he’s an asshole.

Friday night, James Karinchak hit José Abreu in the helmet with a pitch, an obvious accident that sent the Cleveland pitcher into an immediate concerned crouch, and Cleveland catcher Roberto Pérez to immediately check on Abreu, writhing on the ground at the plate.

La Russa came sprinting out of the dugout, with a gait resembling someone hoping not to involuntarily release their bowels before reaching a restroom. That’s very understandable! One of his best players was just hit by a pitch, and he obviously wanted to go check on Abr— what the hell?

La Russa didn’t just run right past Abreu, he jabbed at Pérez’s chest, then started having angry words with the catcher, whose body language rightfully said, “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Thanks to La Russa’s aggro nonsense, both teams’ benches emptied, and a brawl nearly erupted, all while Abreu was still in pain on the ground.

Karinchak eventually went over to check on and lightly hug Abreu, making sure he was okay, because what had happened was obviously an accident. And that was fine. It’s not fine at all for the manager of a team to lay hands on someone, and La Russa is lucky that Pérez isn’t as much of an asshole as he is, or else the Hall of Famer would be spending all day Saturday at the dentist.

If there’s any accountability in the MLB office, La Russa will spend a day or two very soon anywhere but the ballpark, serving a suspension for his completely unacceptable conduct that took an unfortunate accident and nearly turned it into an all-out fight.