Upon hearing that the “Redhead” had died at age 95 Wednesday after he had been in declining health, La Russa remembered Buck’s lingering illness in 2002. “Even when you knew that he wasn’t feeling good and the quality of his life wasn’t nearly what it used to be, you got very selfish about saying that you still wanted him around,” he said. “He was one of the most beautiful individuals you would ever want to meet. In every way, he was beautiful.”
La Russa said some of his best times spent before games was standing next to Schoendienst in the outfield shagging fly balls during batting practice.