At 76 y/o, this will make LaRussa the 3rd oldest MLB manager in history - Connie Mack retired at age 87 and Jack McKeon came back and finished a season with the Marlins at the age of 80. I'll be honest with you, this move absolutely flabbergasts me. I don't get it.
I remember Casey Stengal managing the Mets and he retired at age 75. He was ancient at that age, although I have to acknowledge that in the 1960s, such people were much older at that age than someone that age is now. I recall asking a friend who was near my parent age (then nearing 70) about whether my memories of my grandmothers seeming so old (a handful of years younger than Stengal) were just the juxtaposition of my youth and their old age. But she said no, her parents generation were a lot older at those ages than folks are now. But still, in today's game, this seems the wrong direction for any club.