On the same day that Tony La Russa might have left baseball for good, the greatest player he ever managed hit his 703rd home run. If Albert Pujols had retired when the Angels released him early in the 2021 season, his decade-long fade in Anaheim would've clouded the greatness of his Cardinals legacy. Improbably, Pujols constructed an ending to his career that is much more appropriate for an inner-circle Hall of Famer, with his Dodgers success in 2021 and this year's home run binge back in St. Louis.
The opposite trajectory has occurred for his former manager.