One thing Tony La Russa has more of than World Series rings is cats.

The 68-year-old La Russa, won who World Series titles as manager of the Oakland A's (1989) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2006, 2011), told Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal that there are currently 17 felines at his home in the Bay Area.

The future Hall of Famer is a noted animal rights enthusiast, and he started an organization (Tony La Russa's Animal Rights Foundation) dedicated to saving and sheltering animals. Most of the cats at La Russa's home are foster cats who are looking for new homes, but nevertheless La Russa reeled off all their names for Gay:

"Skye, Pearl, Slash—named after a rock 'n' roll guitarist—Sophia, Maggie, Jack—my daughter found him in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box—Stella, Sierra, Kachina, Lakota, Fergus, Dexter—he's very precocious—Misha, Cammie, Eddie, Patchy, Pawnee."

La Russa, who is third all time with 2,728 victories as a manager, says cats have become an Internet phenomenon because of their unusual relationship with humans.

"I think it's because they are so unique in the way they show affection, and because you have to work for it," he told Gay. "Once you get it, man, they just curl up with you. But they retain their independence."