UpdatedJul 3, 2012 11:53 AM ET

Baseball had much to celebrate Sunday: Fan voting for the All-Star Game reached a new high, with an astounding 40.2 million ballots cast. Texas Rangers hero Josh Hamilton set a new single-season record with 11 million votes. Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels rookie sensation, will make the first of what should be many All-Star appearances.

Yet the most-talked-about person in baseball was a 67-year-old with a .199 career batting average who is no longer an active player, coach or manager.

Really, though, who expected Tony La Russa to stay in the background?

However you interpreted his snubs of Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips I, for one, believe spite was part of the motivation they underscored the enduring romance of La Russas career: Tony loves the spotlight, and the spotlight loves Tony.

La Russa is at once the most successful and conspicuous manager of our lifetime. He won 2,728 games and three World Series titles because he has hard-boiled ideas about how baseball ought to be played. And he will take every opportunity to remind us of that, before and during what could be his final meaningful appearance in uniform.

Lets be clear: La Russa has every right to do so. He will manage the National League during the All-Star Game on July 10 (MLB on FOX, 7:30 p.m. ET). He earned the assignment because his St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series last year. Thats how the system works. In this context, it hardly matters that La Russa announced his retirement shortly after the parade.

La Russa may have only one game on his 2012 schedule, but already hes in midseason form. Hes been known to teach (and occasionally preach) the games finer points. This time, Cueto and Phillips were the unwitting pupils.

You may remember the history: Two years ago, in advance of an August showdown between the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, Phillips referred to the Cardinals as little bitches in an interview with Hall of Fame writer Hal McCoy. A benches-clearing brawl erupted during the series. Cueto kicked Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue in the head during the melee; LaRue sustained a concussion and never played in the major leagues again.

Read more:
Were All-Star snubs innocent or personal?