Tony La Russa is back where he started as the Chicago White Sox introduced the Hall of Famer as their new manager on Thursday.

La Russa, four-time Manager of the Year, is the third-winningest manager in baseball history and three-time World Series champion.

La Russa brings his 2,728-2,365 career record back to Chicago, where he began his managerial career in 1979 at age 34. The 76-year-old has not managed a major league team since retiring after winning the 2011 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. La Russa becomes the oldest manager in baseball; Dusty Baker is next at 71.

"While I have had other inquiries about managing since retiring, this opportunity with the White Sox brings together a number of important factors that make this the right time and the right place," La Russa said. "The on-field talent is amazing, and the front office, led by Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn, has done everything necessary to create an atmosphere of long-term success. All of those factors aligned to make this a tremendous opportunity, and I am excited to get going as soon as possible by building a coaching staff and getting to work."

The White Sox parted ways with Rick Renteria in mid-October.

La Russa managed 33 years with Chicago (1979-86), the Oakland Athletics (1986-99) and St. Louis (2000-11). He has won three World Series titles, one with the Athletics (1989) and two with the Cardinals (2006, 2011). La Russa went 522-510 in eight seasons with the White Sox but was fired by GM Ken Harrelson after a 26-38 start in 1986.

White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has long since regretted the move.

"His hiring is not based on friendship or on what happened years ago, but on the fact that we have the opportunity to have one of the greatest managers in the game's history in our dugout at a time when we believe our team is poised for great accomplishments," Reinsdorf said Thursday.

Since leaving the dugout, La Russa has worked in front offices of the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-17), Boston Red Sox (2018-19) and most recently the Los Angeles Angels, where he was a senior adviser.

La Russa was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.