Less than an hour before first pitch, the Sox announced that La Russa would miss the game under his doctors’ orders. “I was with him all day,” Sheets said Wednesday. “I was kind of blindsided by it. He looked good all day.” The Sox announced Wednesday that La Russa is out indefinitely and is scheduled to undergo further testing with doctors in Arizona. “As a team and as his player,” reliever Kendall Graveman said, “I want to wish him nothing but the best of health and recovery and whatever that entails in his immediate future and moving forward. That’s obviously where our hearts and minds are. Hopefully we’ll have the best doctors around him to see what’s going on.” [ [Don’t miss] ‘Anything can happen’: 2005 World Series champions offer support to struggling White Sox ] Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that La Russa, 77, recently had an exam with a cardiologist and the recommendation was to miss Tuesday’s game. Nightengale reported that after more tests Wednesday, La Russa was advised to see a heart specialist. “I talked to him (Wednesday), he was fine,” Sox bench coach Miguel Cairo said. “But his doctor is in Arizona. They have all the information on his medical and we will know later in the week what is going on.” Cairo, coming off Tuesday’s 9-7 loss, will continue to pitch. He led the Sox to a 4-2 win on Wednesday. White Sox acting manager Miguel Cairo talks with injured shortstop Tim Anderson during batting practice Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) “Health and family,” Graveman said. “You see us in uniform a lot and you see us on the field doing our job and preparing every day to be the best baseball players we can be, and Tony was preparing to be the best coach he can be. But at the end of it all, apart from traveling (between) different cities and matching everyday and going to battle with each other, we have families, we have people who are dear to us and have been through all this together. It really puts baseball into perspective. “I understand that we want to compete and win and prepare and do our best, and that’s what we’re getting paid for. But there are things that I believe are vital and far more important than playing baseball. He needs to go be with his family and take care of himself right now.” Some of the players, like outfielder/first baseman Andrew Vaughn, learned the news Tuesday via social media. “I saw the White Sox put something out,” Vaughn said, “and I was like, ‘Oh, my God. This is crazy.’ And then we just had to go play. “We were trying to talk about it, trying to understand what was going on. They mentioned a few things, maybe his heart. Only health. Pretty scary.” [ [Don’t miss] Column: August was the month the White Sox have been waiting for. Instead, it might have snuffed out their playoff dreams. ] La Russa is in the second season of his second stint with the Sox. Last season they won their first division title since 2008, but this year has been riddled with injuries and inconsistency. The Sox entered Wednesday’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field in third place in the American League Central, three games below .500. La Russa is second all-time among major league managers with 2,884 wins. The 2014 Hall of Fame inductee won World Series titles with the Oakland Athletics (1989) and St. Louis Cardinals (2006, 2011). “You look at his record and it’s on his own,” Graveman said. “He’s probably forgotten more about baseball than I’ll ever know. That’s something I looked up to, seeing him show up every day and go to work and work extremely hard. And his eagerness and his (desire) to win, he lived and died in victory and defeat. He still cares. I’m sure he’s still watching and going on. “When we lost, it really hurt him, and when we won, he was really excited for us. And I think he was more excited not for himself but for the team as a whole when we won. And he was frustrated and always thinking about what he could have done better to make us win when we were losing. So I respect him for that.” La Russa managed the Sox from 1979-86 and is back for 2021 in hopes of taking a talented young team to the next level after the Sox were eliminated in the wild-card round in 2020. The Sox made the playoffs last season, but were eliminated in the AL Division Series by the Houston Astros in four games. Projected to be one of the top teams in baseball this season, the Sox found themselves six games behind the top-seeded Cleveland Guardians on the last day of August. “First and foremost a prayer for (La Russa),” Sheets said. “You just pray for him, pray for a speedy recovery. We don’t know the full details of what’s going on, but the most important thing is we want to get some wins … so when he comes back, whenever that is, hopefully we’ll be in a better position for the playoffs. “I loved playing for him. It has taught me a lot. He was a great mentor to me, especially as a young player. From the first day I came on board, he took me under his wing, showed me the ropes and learned from him all the way. I want to see him back as soon as possible.”
