The manager who last Friday guided the Saint Louis Cardinals baseball team to the World Series championship over the Texas Rangers is calling it quits.

In a surprise announcement Monday, 67-year-old Tony La Russa said he is retiring after 33 years as a big league manager — the last 16 with the Cardinals. He said he just felt it was time.

La Russa is the third-winningest manager in Major League history with 2,728 victories. He is also the only manager to win multiple American and National League titles, and only the second to win a World Series title in each league, as well.

La Russa's managerial career began with the Chicago White Sox in 1979. After parts of eight seasons with them, he moved to Oakland during the 1986 season and won the World Series with the A's in 1989.

Saint Louis hired La Russa in 1996. The Cardinals finished in first place in their division seven times and made the post-season nine times during his 16 seasons. This year they shockingly won the World Series after qualifying as a wild card playoff team on the final day of the regular season. Saint Louis also won the World Series under La Russa in 2006.

As a player, La Russa was a light-hitting second baseman, mostly for the Oakland A's, over parts of six Major League seasons. But he will almost assuredly be elected to the Hall of Fame as a manager.