Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre elected to baseball Hall of Fame

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Tony La Russa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre -- three of baseball’s most decorated managers -- were unanimously selected Monday for induction to the Hall of Fame.

The announcement sets the stage for what could be one of the largest Hall of Fame classes in recent history, one year after there were no living inductees. The players up for election include Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas; the results will be announced Jan. 8.

La Russa ranked third, Cox fourth and Torre fifth on the list of all-time managerial victories, trailing only Connie Mack and John McGraw. With Monday’s announcement, the 10 managers with at least 2,000 victories have been elected to the Hall of Fame.

With Jim Leyland retired and Dusty Baker unemployed, Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants leads active managers with 1,530 victories. Mike Scioscia of the Angels follows with 1,233.

La Russa won 2,728 games with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He won championships with the A’s in 1989 and the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011.

Cox won 2,504 games with the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He led the Braves to the 1995 title.

Torre won 2,326 games for the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Yankees and Mets, including championships with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. He finished his career with the Dodgers in 2010, after he had groomed Don Mattingly as his successor.

Results of the Expansion Era Ballot (12 votes needed for election): Bobby Cox (16 votes, 100%); Tony La Russa (16 votes, 100%); Joe Torre (16 votes, 100%); Dave Concepcion, Steve Garvey, Tommy John, Billy Martin, Marvin Miller, Dave Parker, Dan Quisenberry, Ted Simmons and George Steinbrenner each received six or fewer votes.

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