Tony La Russa

Tony La Russa, whose Oakland Athletics were just swept in the World Series by the Cincinnati Reds, now has the fur industry on his back. La Russa was featured in a Humane Society ad calling on people not to buy fur. "When you buy fur, you strike out," La Russa says in the ad. Foul ball, cried the Fur Information Council of America. "In light of the Humane Society's position that also bans leather, Mr.

Manager Tony La Russa said Friday his remarks about Jose Canseco's outfield play Wednesday reflected an honesty that characterized his manner all season and did not indicate dissension on the Oakland club. La Russa had said Canseco should have been able to catch a fly ball by Billy Hatcher that became a triple and began an eighth-inning rally by the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium. However, he stressed that he did not say the play had cost Oakland the game.

Jose Canseco (choose one): 1. Started the Johnstown Flood. 2. Is the real Lindbergh kidnaper. 3. Stole Christmas, shot Santa Claus. 4. Bombed Pearl Harbor. 5. Voted Communist. 6. Is responsible for the deficit, the savings and loan scandal. 7. Killed Custer, sank the Titanic. 8. Is really Martin Bormann. He must be the most terrible person alive. At least, in sports. There isn't a city they don't boo him. You can't pick up a paper where he isn't being criticized.

Harold Baines was a teen-ager when Tony La Russa met him in the summer of 1978, a shy player with a wealth of promise and a decent half-season of Class-A ball behind him. Others may have wondered whether Baines merited being the nation's top pick in the 1977 draft, but La Russa was perceptive enough to realize that Baines' quiet manner masked a remarkable poise that enabled him to thrive under pressure.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS general manager Richard L. (Sandy) Alderson decided this spring that the team absolutely had to sign a Texas pitching phenomenon named Todd Van Poppel. Never mind that the 18-year-old, who can throw 97 m.p.h., was the most sought-after high school player in the nation. Never mind that he had already scared off other teams by announcing that he wanted to attend college before becoming a baseball star. Alderson was in a gambling mood.

The last time these two tangled with something at stake, the Earth moved. This meeting produced nothing more spectacular than an hourlong shower, so it should come as little surprise that Roger Craig feels cheated. Again. And he is only the first at the end of a very long line. Commissioner Fay Vincent, still shy of a year on the job, saw his first World Series humbled by nature last fall and now his first All-Star game numbed by boredom. Worse yet, he missed a foul pop-up by inches.

Oakland A's manager Tony La Russa got involved in some unusual pregame activity Thursday night when he exchanged angry words with a spectator at Memorial Stadium. Chris Watson, 23, of Towson, Md., said La Russa challenged him to a fight. Watson listed his vital information as 6-foot-3 and 320 pounds; La Russa, 45, is 6-1 and 190 pounds. Asked if he had challenged Watson to a fight, La Russa said, "I don't have any comment." He paused before adding, "He made an uncalled-for family reference."

Having fulfilled his unprecedented goal of 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in 1988--and completely recovered now from the wrist injury that sidelined him during the first half of 1989--Jose Canseco has set a goal of 50-50. And the right fielder's team, the Oakland Athletics, have set a comparably imposing goal. Call it, as the Lakers did, Three-peat .

They ought to invite the San Francisco Giants to a World Series some time. They missed this one although Lord knows it lasted long enough for them to show up--14 elapsed days between start and finish. But they spent the whole World Series like a guy who overslept trying to catch a bus. The Giants were in a "Hey! Wait for me!" mode the whole tournament. If you missed the 1989 World Series, just go home and pull the wings off butterflies or go get a seat at a train wreck. Same thing.

A graduate of the Florida State law school and a member of the Florida bar, Tony La Russa understands the risk of circumstantial evidence and avoids employing it in his role as the Oakland Athletics' manager. La Russa operates from a bank of computers, scouting reports, statistics and comparative percentages. No manager, his players insist, is better prepared.