Getty ImagesSt. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith have revisited their feuding ways, 10 years after the skipper made him the backup, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Monday.
In response to Smith's comments to the newspaper that he still considers himself a Cardinal and didn't want to elaborate his disagreements with the team any further, La Russa fired off some angry comments.
"Speaking personally, I don't think he would be good for our ballclub," La Russa told the Post-Dispatch. "For him to repeat those comments is really unreasonable. That invitation is no longer there. He's not welcome."
La Russa also said Smith was no longer welcome at spring training as an instructor.
"When my time is up, they can welcome him with open arms, but I don't want to be anywhere that he is," La Russa added. "I won't ever be around when he's around. Cardinals fans can embrace him all they want to, and it won't be uncomfortable because I won't be there.
"I won't be in the area. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror."
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In Smith's final season in 1996, the shortstop and then first-year Cardinals manager La Russa argued publicly over Smith's playing time after La Russa installed Royce Clayton as the starter.
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