Diamondbacks: Evaluating The Tony La Russa Era

Apr 6, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony La Russa prior to the game against the San Francisco Giants during opening day at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The year is 2014 and the Diamondbacks are heading into the All-Star Break, heads low, sporting a record of 40-56. To add to the depression, they would go on to lose their All-Star first baseman a couple weeks later and at the end of the season ended up with the worst record in all of baseball. Even before this low point the front office hired Tony La Russa as Chief Baseball Officer. He came in and evaluated then went to work rebuilding this team. And boy have things changed rapidly. Coming into this year’s All-Star Break the Diamondbacks are treading water at .500, but are just one or two moves away from being a contender. For thanks, one can turn to La Russa

His first major moves can be seen in the beginning of July in 2014. The proceeding offseason saw coaching changes, a new GM and a retooling of a roster that was fundamentally broken. While there were front office moves La Russa was involved in (hiring Dave Stewart and Chip Hale) we will stick to the on field moves. Where did the changes all start and how have those attempts to fix the problem fared? How has Tony La Russa fared in his first full year of deals? Well, lets hop in our Delorean for a bit and take a look.