Phil Garner is 45-39 in his career head to head vs Tony LaRussa. Although LaRussa holds a slight 4-3 edge where it counts. In the playoffs ( 2004 NLCS ).

Obviously Garner has a lot of respect for Tony LaRussa and Tony LaRussa has a lot of respect for Phil Garner. Both are good managers. LaRussa is a great manager because he has been to World Series and won championships. Garner isn't appreciated as much as LaRussa because Garner is a career under .500 as a manager, but a lot of that was managing bad Brewers and Tigers teams for so many seasons.