Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving on Monday in connection with a February incident.
La Russa was arrested Feb. 24 in Phoenix and charged with two misdemeanor DUI charges after his SUV struck a curb. The guilty plea came as part of a plea deal struck earlier this month with prosecutors in Maricopa County, Ariz., when the state agreed to drop the DUI charges.
La Russa entered his plea via videoconference and was sentenced to one day in jail, which can be served while in home confinement. He was fined $1,383 and must complete 20 hours of community service.
La Russa previously pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in Florida in 2007.
In the Arizona case, the charges weren’t filed until Oct. 28 — the day before the White Sox hired him to replace Rick Renteria.
“I brought this on myself. I know it,” La Russa said Monday afternoon on a conference call. “I feel deep remorse and regret over what I did. Its impossible to explain how daily and deeply this gets at you and has bothered me for a long time. Obviously I displayed bad judgment that night in February. I’m grateful to the White Sox for standing by me.”
La Russa said he completed a 20-hour alcohol awareness course and vowed never to drink and drive.
“There’s always an alternative,” he said.
The White Sox released a statement about their new skipper’s “poor behavior and the questionable choices he made last February.”
“The White Sox understand the anger and concern expressed by some about hiring Tony under these circumstances. Tony has expressed to us his remorse, and he understands he brought this on himself,” the team said. “We understand that people make mistakes and exercise poor judgment in life. In this case, Tony is fortunate his decisions that night did not injure himself or anyone else. We also believe people deserve the opportunity, at all points in their lives, to improve. Tony knows there is no safety net below him. There cannot be a third strike.
“Tony has a proud and productive history with the White Sox and Major League Baseball, which is why we are standing by him.”
It will be the second go-round for La Russa on the South Side of Chicago. He began his long managerial career with the White Sox in 1979 at age 34, then went on to manage the Oakland Athletics (1986-95) and St. Louis Cardinals (1996-2011).
Now 76, La Russa was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014. He has won three World Series titles.
He has a career managerial record of 2,728-2,365. He trails only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763) in wins all-time.
