WEST POINT, N.Y. – You never know who might drop by Doubleday Field.

In recent years, astronauts, three-star generals and Hall-of-Fame baseball players have all toured the pristine baseball grounds of the Academy and taken time from their hectic schedules and visited with Army’s baseball team. It was St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa’s turn Monday afternoon, dropping by the Black Knights’ storied home to spend a few minutes touring the pristine facility and chatting with Army’s baseball and softball team members.

“Coaches take care of the important stuff, but here’s what I tell young players,” LaRussa told the group. “I can read the stats of a player to see what you’re hitting; I can look at your ERA. I know from watching spring training about a player’s ability, but the first thing I ask the coaches that he’s played for is how competitive and how tough he is. Those are the two things that I want to know. You’d be surprised at how many people forget the number one rule – that this is a competition and that they keep score. And if you keep score want to win.

“The first thing I ask about is if a player understands competition. This game will test you. You’re going to have failure and you’re going to get knocked on your butt. Competitiveness and toughness are the only things I look at. You don’t get to put that uniform on without talent, but it’s not about talent. It’s about being competitive and being tougher than the team your playing.”

A close personal friend and guest of West Point Superintendent Buster L. Hagenbeck, LaRussa spent Monday’s off-day from the Cardinals touring Academy grounds. He wrapped his visit to West Point with a trip to historic Doubleday Field

“I have one last thing to leave you with,” he told the baseball team members as they prepared for their day’s practice session, “and this is really gold. I tell our players there are three keys to being successful. One is preparation. We prepare our club for stressful situations and really look forward to those situations. The second is repetition. We prepare for those situations many times, so that when we are faced with stressful conditions, we’re ready for the challenge. And the third thing we talk to our players about – and this is really golden – is thinking about the process, rather than the result. We focus on the process required to succeed rather than what it will feel like to succeed.”

Before departing for a trip to Yankee Stadium later Monday evening, LaRussa joked that the Black Knights will have to do an awful lot to live up to the praise offered by head coach Joe Sottolano.

“He’s been saying a lot of great things about you,” the two-time World Series champion-manger quipped to the Black Knights, “so you’re going to have to work hard to meet those expectations. He’s been bragging about you a lot to me today.”

Sottolano expressed his appreciation at LaRussa’s visit afterwards.

“We were honored that Tony LaRussa would take time from his busy schedule to visit with our team,” Sottolano stated. “He’s a special man and has experienced great success at the highest level. And it seems like he views our young men with the same respect that we view him. We view him to be the best at what he does, and he views our young man in the same manner. It was an honor to spend some time with him today.”