Tony La Russa convinced Nashville could support MLB team, and wants to be part of it

Tony La Russa believes major league baseball would work in Nashville, and he wants to be a part of it.

La Russa, a three-time World Series winner as a manager and a 2014 inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame, is part of an advisory group put together by John Loar, who wants to bring a big-league team to Music City.

"He is baseball royalty," Loar said. "There shouldn't be any question in anybody's mind that he's a person that you would want to have involved with his history, his background and his status."

Loar, a California businessman who moved to Nashville about six months ago, and La Russa, 74, have been friends since La Russa was managing in Oakland in the 1980s and '90s, when A's pitcher Dennis Eckersley was a neighbor of Loar's.

"That started a friendship, and we’ve been friends ever since," La Russa said in a phone interview. "I know a lot about him as a person and a professional.”

La Russa and Loar were part of a group that failed in a bid to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 and also explored buying the Seattle Mariners.

Loar's advisory group also includes former A's pitcher Dave Stewart, Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin and Steve Hodges, a Sony Music executive vice president based in Nashville. La Russa said he, Loar and Hodges have had their eye on Music City.

"We had just always talked about, since I left the Cardinals ... that Nashville and what's happening in that town as far as the growth, the excitement, what's happening with the football team and the hockey team, it's a natural for baseball," La Russa said. "And that's where we are.

"I've been there enough to know what's happening. Potentially, it's very exciting. Comparing it to major league baseball cities, it wouldn't be a stretch."

La Russa has worked for the MLB office, the Arizona Diamondbacks and currently with the Boston Red Sox in a front-office capacity since retiring as a manager in 2011.

"Ninety-nine percent of my attention, energies and commitment are to the Boston Red Sox," he said. "But there's nothing wrong with looking forward because most people believe that expansion is on the horizon."

La Russa said a lot has to happen for a Nashville bid for an expansion team – or purchase of an existing franchise – to come together. But if it does, he wants to be involved.

"When it comes down to the baseball side, that's something that I would be a part of," he said. "If there were a number of groups that were looking to be part of the expansion and they were interested in my services, I would have to say no. I made a commitment to the Nashville club. I like how they're going about it."

Reach Tommy Deas at 615-259-8328 and on Twitter @tommydeas.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get news from The Tennessean on your mobile device

COULD MLB WORK HERE? Is Nashville ready for an MLB franchise? Meet the man with a plan

MEET THE MAN WITH THE PLAN: Five things you need to know about John Loar, the man who wants to bring MLB to Nashville