Baseball's Tony LaRussa Charged with DUI

Four-time manager of the year award winner and manager of last year's World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, Tony LaRussa also is number 3 on the all-time career wins list with 2,297 wins over 28 seasons. He also led the Oakland A's to their World Series victory in 1989, among 3 other World Series victories. In his fabulous career, he has managed the Oakland A's, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Chicago White Sox. Now, however, he finds himself in another competition that he is not quite as skilled at. This competition is one against the law.

LaRussa's SUV was spotted by several undercover officers sitting halfway in an intersection in Jupiter, Florida, not moving at around 12 a.m. on Thursday morning, March 22, 2007. After 2 green lights, the SUV still did not move. The undercover officers knocked on the window, but LaRussa did not respond. When LaRussa did awake from sleeping, officers administered two breath samples, which measured his blood alcohol level at 0.093, which was 0.013 points above Florida's legal limit of 0.080 percent. The SUV was not only running with LaRussa asleep, but was also in drive. The sleeping LaRussa's foot was on the brake, preventing it from moving. According to records, LaRussa was booked into the jail at Palm Beach County at approximately 4 a.m. on Thursday morning, 4 hours after his initial charge. LaRussa was booked on a charge of drunken driving, a misdemeanor. LaRussa posted a $500 cash bond later and was released at 8:30 a.m. Thursday morning. He left in time to manage a spring training game in Roger Dean stadium that featured the St. Louis Cardinals versus the Florida Marlins. The Cardinals did say that the team takes the matter seriously and offered an apology for embarrassments. They offered apologies to the loyal fans, especially. The team also said "The Cardinals organization remains supportive of Tony and we understand that he has enlisted representation to advise him through any pending legal process." LaRussa, however, declined to comment on the situation while at the stadium before the game. This was at the team's clubhouse, where he was already in uniform and ready to manage the game. On the upside, the press release has stated the LaRussa was cooperative for the entire ordeal. The game begins at 1:05 p.m. Eastern Time today on Thursday, March 22, 2007. We have yet to see how the game plays out and if this ordeal will affect LaRussa's management or the player's game. We also have yet to see if the player's will not play as hard for LaRussa now that this has come about.

Sources:

Associated Press