9:35pm: A White Sox official told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that La Russa will neither lose his job nor face any discipline from the team.
8:28pm: Newly named White Sox manager Tony La Russa was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in the Phoenix area last February, Jeff Passan and Paula Lavigne of ESPN.com report. La Russa allegedly crashed into a curb and had a “light odor of alcoholic beverage,” according to the peace officer who responded to the call. He was “argumentative” when taken into custody, per the officer.
Maricopa County in Arizona officially filed DUI charges against La Russa on Oct. 28, one day before the White Sox hired him as their new manager. The White Sox knew about the arrest at the time, club spokesman Scott Reifert said (via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic). He could face up to 10 days in jail if convicted.
This is the second DUI for La Russa, who was arrested in 2007 when he was the Cardinals’ skipper. He led the Cardinals for five more seasons after that and ended his tenure with a World Series championship in 2011. La Russa went into temporary retirement after that, though he then worked in multiple front offices prior to taking the Chicago job.
This is certainly not the start to the La Russa tenure that the White Sox had in mind when they rehired the Hall of Famer (he previously managed the team from 1979-86). Whether Major League Baseball will discipline him in any way is unknown.
Well that certainly makes the hire look all the better, now doesn’t it?
Cora and Hinch got fired and and suspended for a year for cheating … LaRussa got behind the wheel while impaired, thus endangering all around him which could have led to injury and/or death. This is much worse than cheating – do the right thing Sox/MLB … FIRE him!!!
And with that our prayer is concluded.
It sounds like you’d even spare us the bother of a trial.
“Death”? Seriously? Spare us the hysteria. Let the system take its course, let La Russa and the White Sox handle it however they choose, and carry on.
Aren’t we long passed the point where we pretend baseball managers are icons of some sort–models of civility and decorum (and… when was that, anyway)?
As for preventing future such incidents, if this occurred as described, losing a job is the biggest guarantee that he’ll do it again. Firing La Russa would be the worst kind of grandstanding.
This isn’t the first time he does it and sadly not the last.
Soooooooo as someone who’s had to sit with parents and tell them their 13 year old son was hit and killed by a drunk driver while walking home, yes, death.
@JackStrawb ^^^
Dude cmon. Not every DUI is someone would kill someone. Get a life.
Josh Hancock left a group of Cardinals players and coaches gathered at broadcaster Mike Shannon’s restaurant visibly impaired and crashed into the back of a flatbed truck to his death on a nearby freeway in April 2007.
That just one month after La Russa got his Spring Training 2007 DUI.
So yeah… death has and could again occur in La Russa’s midst as a result of drunk driving.
So you’re saying Tony was driving when Hancock died? Man that must be tough.
And not everyone who gets shot dies. Doesn’t make it right. Who knows what could happen when ANYONE gets behind the wheel impaired. I’m not saying he should be fired and there are worse things he could’ve done but it’s heartless to act like it’s not dangerous.
Exactly. I don’t even think he should get fired. But to pretend like it’s not dangerous is faulty thinking at best.
Nobody said it was? Just that the possibility exists. Life gotten I guess.
Rehab > death or you’re just as bad as those you shame
Its certainly not as bad since nobody was hurt. But its still extremely careless. If any of us picked up 2 DUIs we’d be in jail and at the very least required to attend rehab.
Social media tearing this nation apart a day at a time.
LaRussa had NOTHING to do with Hancock’s death. Not saying the DUI isn’t wrong, but you cannot project that on to him, that’s ridiculous.
He was safer years ago, when he’d get caught while passed-out, at stop lights, in the middle of the street.
Plus he was belligerent. Tony Tony Tony. I just love this hire by Reinsdorf.
Irish, it depends on the BAC. I’d rather have a point zero eight driving next to me than a person on a cell phone. Or worse yet, texting.
Everybody wants to blame the driver, when are they going to blame the alcohol? Oh wait TAXES… We can’t do that…
Said like someone who’s tried to justify doing it themselves. Nice.
So does that make any death due to a DUI acceptable?
Halo, no doubt there’s more than one way to be careless behind the wheel. I was just trying to explain to Jack that death can occur from DUI and isn’t just some hysteria trick lol
That’s correct. Many could end in comma, paralyzed, without their legs or arms, etc. Duh!
It’s worth commenting that guys like Mark Grace and Miguel Cabrera got DUI’s at one point. It’s not a great thing certainly, but does not make a person of terrible character by itself. I know someone who got pulled over because of a broken tail light, and got a DUI after having literally like two beers. I think his blood alcohol was exactly the legal limit. Almost everybody has driven with a couple beers in them at one time or another, I know I have. Most people are not significantly impaired if they have not had more than that. The legal limit is very low, so it is not like every DUI is the same in terms of how reckless and dangerous it is. I’m not condoning or defending it, especially instances where the amount of alcohol is higher and it is much more dangerous, for anyone anxious to attack anybody.
I don’t know Tony’s situation and am not defending it, only saying that it is possible that it was not as bad as someone who is plastered out of their mind and winds up passing out at the wheel and crashing into a tree. Those people are truly a threat to kill or injure someone and deserve jail time whether they injury anybody or not, my opinion. The context and level of a DUI is important before rushing to absolute value judgments about someone’s character, or assuming they are a raging alcoholic, etc, just saying.
But nothing changes that hiring LaRussa was a terrible decision, DUI or not. Reindsorf is setting himself up to be one of the most hated and mocked owners in Chicago sports history. And most of them have been terrible.
Innocent until proven guilty.
A good attorney may be able to get it reduced to a reckless driving depending upon the judge.
The first part of the FS test where the suspect has to follow a pen without moving their head(Horizontal Nystagmus) is about as strong of evidence as a BA test or a urinalysis.
If one fails the nystagmus test, it’s strongly indicative that the subject is under the influence.
So failing a field sobriety test is a very strong indication of a DUI. It may get reduced or he may be found not guilty. That is not the same as innocent.
Dunpster diving Reinsdorf.
He refused the breathalyzer. That is automatic guilty plea. One mistake is forgivable. Second offense is much more serious. In many instances it leads to required jail time.
How sanctimonious!
Let’s just fire anyone whose not perfect everyone they do anything wrong and just shut the league down. The self righteous police need to relax. What he did was wrong. We don’t have to string everyone up every time someone does something stupid.
Not perfect? My gosh, there really are people like you. Getting caught driving drunk – twice – is a need for help. There is no reasonable person in the world who should believe the only two times he’s gotten boozed up and driven were the only two times he’s been caught. I guess he’s got to kill someone for baseball fans to think it’s a big deal? Maybe next time, since he gets another free pass.
*who’s
Pc01 – agreed. In many states a drivers license is suspended for 1 year with the first DUI and taken permanently with the second. Take his drivers license and let him take a cab everywhere. DUI is not a big deal it is huge. People do die when a drunk driver runs over people !!
My neighbor told me marijuana is not as bad as alcohol….what a stupid argument….they both inhibit you. For those who say it is ok, what if the next killed by a drunk driver is YOUR WIFE, SON, or DAUGHTER.
Let La Russa manage just take away his drivers license permanently. I used to conduct education DMVmeetings.
Your neighbor is correct.
washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-…
Sorry @Carlos, but yours is an idiotic comment. You obviously don’t know anyone personally who either drive intoxicated & killed someone (my friend did & was in jail for years), or anyone who was hurt/injured by a drunk driver. What if someone was on their bike or walking/jogging when he hit the curb & blew out his tire? He’s irresponsible & shouldn’t be managing a MLB team right now. Plain & simple.
@pc01 I respect your sentiment totally. But it is also true that if you’ve had a couple beers and get pulled over, you’ll probably blow past the legal limit. The legal limit is very low, and if you’re right there at or barely above the limit it is very possible that it is not an instance of reckless endangerment of people. Who hasn’t driven with a couple beers in them a few times in their lives? I know someone who got a DUI after getting pulled over for broken tail light, and had literally 2 beers I recall. He blew .08 exactly I think. So just saying, the level and context do matter. I don’t know LaRussa’s situations and am not defending, he may very well have been in a much more dangerous category than a couple of beers. But I know several people who have gotten DUI’s, none are alcoholics or recklessly irresponsible people, and it does not mean they should be looked down upon forever.
There are something like 90,000 alcohol-related deaths per year. There are virtually no marijuana-related deaths per year. So there’s that.
Interesting but people on here were upset that someone pointed that out with Jose Fernandez
Cora and Hinch got suspended for threatening the revenue stream that employs them. Any perception of cheating is an existential threat to the league and has to be discouraged from spreading. Much like gambling.
LaRussa’s actions, although far worse, have nothing to do with his job. Don’t ever let him have a license again and give him a brief time in jail and a big fine, but don’t fire him.
I don’t know that it’s worse. Worse then cheating to win? Sure. Worse then cheating and the ripples of that, the ended careers, the contractual effects, etc.?
One wonders how many enraged posters here speed and drive regularly, speeding which kills more than drinking and driving, and yet believe LaRussa should be banished from life? With that said, he isn’t the example I want for a young team anyways.
Well said, Statman.
Cannot fire him. He can hit rehab.
Well he is a repeat offender.
Well, he’s not going to be fired apparently. The team has got to have him on a short leash, barring that. DUI is not acceptable
Cheating in MLB is a very bad thing, DWI will be something for the local jurisdiction to decide
Yes, because alcoholism is a disease worthy of firing everyone from every job that has this disease,,, just like we fire everyone with heart disease or cancer!
It is when it’s more than one offense, plus don’t we live in a world of cabs, Lyft, & Uber? This is an irresponsible comment, especially if u have a friend who drove intoxicated & got in an accident, accidentally killing a mother driving home after work. It’s not defensible & doing so is irrational, like you don’t care if he did hurt someone. What if there was a person standing on the curb he hit?
How does it feel to be perfect, Statman?
I’m going to say something some might find wrong or that I’m excusing something dangerous like driving while intoxicated but I’m here to tell you the majority of people have done it at the very least one time. I’m disappointed at his advanced age he wasn’t smart enough but I kind of feel like a hypocrite. The only reason I never got a dwi is because I didn’t get caught. These days it wouldn’t happen in my life and I’m half his age so kind of shame on him
I’m going to say something some might find wrong or that I’m excusing something dangerous like driving while intoxicated but I’m here to tell you the majority of people have done it at the very least one time. I’m disappointed at his advanced age he wasn’t smart enough but I kind of feel like a hypocrite. The only reason I never got a dwi is because I didn’t get caught. These days it wouldn’t happen in my life and I’m half his age so kind of shame on him but 90% of those I know(men are worse IMO)have at least done it a few times. Wrong? Yell yeah but don’t be a hypocrite
I’m sorry, but how does driving drunk relate to baseball coaching skills? I don’t endorse driving drunk, but he’s not a cheater. Cheaters should be banned for years.
Alcohol is the death of the nation, Herb of its healing
Wow! Why charged so many months later?!
He could have asked for a delay, he’ll take the train to work if driving privileges taken away, I thought this was a MLB site!
It might look even worse if Rick Renteria is awarded the 2020 AL Manager of the Year Award tomorrow evening. Despite the incessant complaining by many White Sox fans on social media, Renteria deserved better than getting fired after successfully overseeing the organizations 3-year rebuild and finally getting them to the postseason for the first time since 2008 in his 4th season at the helm.
Not to mention being fired after 1 season with CHC to be replaced by Joe Maddon who then took them to the playoffs the next season, while winning the WS the 2nd season after Renteria.
Rick Renteria did have one very strong suit that he shared with Joe Maddon, the ability to create a great clubhouse culture with today’s players. It helped the White Sox in particular with so many Hispanic players on their roster and with Renteria having a similar ethnic background as an American with a Mexican heritage who is bilingual. As much as some White Sox fans complained about Renteria’s ability to manage the game on the field, few would argue that their 2020 team was among the most enjoyable to watch even without the ability to do it in person.
Renteria’s great advantage over Maddon and new hire Tony La Russa was his classiness. Renteria was always accountable for his actions and never threw a player or coach under the bus which happened far too often with his replacement and counterpart on the north side of town.
I was in favor of the White Sox finally moving on from long time pitching coach Don Cooper but would have preferred they retained Renteria as their manager. I believe Cooper played a big role in Renteria’s decisions regarding the pitching staff even if the latter took full blame for any misfires. The White Sox have some great internal candidates to replace Cooper who are far more analytically inclined and could have become Renteria’s new ‘ear’ when decisions were needed on the mound. Clearly Renteria leaned heavily on his new hitting instructors in 2020 who helped the White Sox become an offensive force in the AL with a mostly young roster and virtually no help from newly acquired veteran slugger DH Edwin Encarnacion and RF Nomar Mazara.
The slump the White Sox endured in their last 10 games had as much to do with the offensive struggles of Luis Robert and Tim Anderson along with the base running injury to Eloy Jimenez as with Renteria’s managerial decisions. Genghis Hahn should have also been held accountable to some degree for not doing a better job of addressing the imbalance of a White Sox batting order that went 15-0 versus left-handed pitching but struggled mightily versus RHP. This was especially apparent versus the Indians in 2020 including the 4-game sweep during the final week that knocked the White Sox out of the division lead and a chance for a higher seed heading into the postseason. Opponents finally wised up and stopped throwing southpaws against the White Sox down the stretch to increase their chances for victory, something that tied the hands of their recently fired manager.
Read above. They knew when they hired him.
Dunpster diving Reinsdorf.
He’s a dinosaur. In the same way he still hangs onto old school philosophies in the game, he insists on driving home instead of taking an UBER ride.
“I’m a Hall of Famer baseball guy” is what he uttered to the arresting officer. Yeesh. Everyone’s always on his lawn.
Nice
ALL drunk drivers should be thrown feet first into a wood chipper.
Careful, I just suggested Justin Turner should be tarred & feathered for that he put the nation at risk & I got a 7 day sentence in Twitter-jail…
Thats a bit extreme maybe a kick to the nuts
@pdxbrew Dude, perhaps lighten up and take some herb. People who have had 2 beers will blow past the legal limit if they get pulled over for something else, like a friend of mind did for a busted tail light and literally 2 beers. If you’ve never driven with a beer or two in you, then good for you. Most people have. I agree with the sentiment toward those who are reckless and drive when they are plastered, and are a complete danger and hazard, or those that have injured or killed people. But your comment a little extreme for the real world and the contexts of all DUI’s. The legal limit is very low, you do not have to be impaired much at all to get a DUI, and can be a much better driver after a couple beers than people who are distracted because they are texting or some other nonsense. There are many people who are much more dangerous drivers in general than those who have had 2 beers, just saying.
If your friend blew over the legal limit, HE WAS TOO DRUNK TO DRIVE. Regardless of how many beers he had.
The guy that killed my mom only had “a couple of beers.” Still plenty drunk enough.
Ooooohhhh the irony is almost painful…. but ooohh soooo funnnyyy.
LOL That’s not a good start to his new chapter
Not sure how he can keep credibility among his players with this kind of reputation.
[insert Michael Jackson popcorn gif here]
BTW… White Sox… this is oh so wrong, and y’all should be ashamed: “Maricopa County in Arizona officially filed DUI charges against La Russa on Oct. 28, one day before the White Sox hired him as their new manager. The White Sox knew about the arrest at the time, club spokesman Scott Reifert said (via Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic). He could face up to 10 days in jail if convicted.”
Let me look closer at the quote… THEY KNEW! WTH CHICAGO?
No wonder he has been too busy to call his players to introduce himself.
Lifelong Sox fan here. We are ashamed.
Why would a rangers fan care what the white Sox are doing when Ron Washington was doing cocaine and smoking weed as y’all manager
I care because we let him go, they want to keep him.
Sure. I’m sure they did their research and knew all of this before they hired him. Shouldn’t be fired. It was 8 months ago.
Actually, they did. It even said it in the article.
That’s what I’m saying. Like they probably already been in contact with the county in Arizona and everything.
Disagree 100%. TL shouldn’t have been hired in the first place & now with this news, he should be fired immediately.
Just what the White Sox needed…more negative press around the LaRussa hiring. This has Boston / Bobby Valentine written all over it!
Lo what an idiotic hire for such a good, young baseball club.
This may be a blessing in disguise for the White Sox
If they already knew they don’t care
Jerry doesn’t care really
He should not be doing anything in the MLB. FIRE HIM WHITE SOX. WE EXPECT THE SAME FROM THE PLAYERS.
This idiot hasn’t learned his lesson. Hell, I thought he was drunk when he went on Maddog’s show on MLB network and threatened Larusso with a physical beating.
Cameron Maybin got released from the Giants for a DUI in spring training 2019 and has since played for four different organizations and two playoff teams. Its stupid and irresponsible but isn’t going to get anyone banned from the game unless a tragedy followed (and even the who knows anymore)
Oneil Cruz hasnt been released yet so there’s your answer
How does it work where you get arrested in February but charged on October 28 – 8 months later? Just seems weird. Not defending or condoning at all just don’t know why this wasn’t all prosecuted back in February. Did they get new evidence in late October?
Yea that’s absurd. I’ve never heard of that happening for a D.U.I.
Imo has to be because of covid+ likely court shutdowns
The charges should’ve still been laid and he would’ve received a promise to appear. The fact that they didn’t lay charges till now, means that he’s still had a valid license that whole time. He could’ve done it again and killed someone the next time, then the police would’ve been liable. Atleast if they had charged him that night his license would’ve been suspended and they can say they did everything they could to keep him off the road.
Not saying it was right or good, just what may have happened.
We know the normal. What’s been different this year?
This is his 2nd DUI, leads a young white sox team.. Imo hes gotta go, drunk driving injures/kills many.
to be fair, what directly does DUI and them being young have to do with anything? you think players take life advice from coaches, especially ones nearly three times their age?
You mean like a father or grandfather? Except they get to be around them everyday?
Drunk driving and the White Sox hiring La Russa – both are irresponsible actions.
How does a 76 year old get a DUI during quarantine? Get Mike Scioscia on line 1.
Wasn’t quarantined in February
Just trying to relate to the youth??
White Sox should give him a driver … with 2 deuces, he’ll probably won’t be eligible for renewal anyway
La Rusa is trying to beat Carlos Beltran’s record for shortest non-interm tenured manager.
Get a cab! Don’t drink and drive!
Not a good start to the “he’ll be a great mentor to the kids” mantra
Day one of spring training, “Welcome guys. Do as I say, not as I do youngsters. Now may I propose a toast?” -Tony
What a fool
What an idiotic fool
because sox fans really needed another reason to hate this hire
This is just great
Guess the white sox will look for another manager now..
Sandy Alomar for Sox manager!!
Carlos Beltran needs an interview.
Sidney ponson available?
That’s Sir Sidney Ponson to you!
Was he pre-celebrating his hire?
MADD
Ironic. He was drunk when he was driving and the WhiteSox were drunk when they hired him. What a match!
I’m sorry after a second DUI, you should get more than up to 10 days of jail time.
Correct…..
I read that Arizona law doesn’t regard a dui 10 years ago from another state as a prior dui there.
Now that’s just stupid. I know it’s out of jurisdiction, but that would mean that DUI (it’s called DWI in Texas) is different in Montana rather than in Arizona. To put it into perspective: if all the states had that same law, you could conceivable commit DUI in all 50 states and never get jailed for more than 10 days max. That’s just stupid.
Different states have different thresholds, so it is different state by state. .08 is pretty low (AZ) but he tested higher than the minimum.
Reinsdorf had some attractive options yet he selects Tony while knowing about the DUI. What does MLB do? They put pressure on Jerry to make a change.
Why are comments on for this but not off for players under investigation for domestic violence?
Probably an oversight
shhh maybe if we’re good they’ll let us comment on the other ones… lol
I was actually surprised because I know Connor and TC to be the ones who close the comments the most.
Because of how reasonable people are on the internet
Anyone else think that La Russia just has that ‘DUI look’?
Imagine that
No excuse for DUI’s nowadays with Uber and Lyft. Even lower for someone with his money to get not only one, but a second as well.
And Reinsdorf wants to tell the Mets how to conduct THEIR business?
Lance Parrish once tongue kissed me at Tony LaRussa’s house.
Who hasn’t kissed you like that
Looks like Tony won’t get that Supreme Court gig huh?
Neither will Lance! And too bad – both LaRussa and Parrish were slowly moving up the charts and stood to break into the top 50 million candidates for the Supreme Court. So close!
Argumentative??
What, did the cop show him Hal Baines’ stat line???
They announced a press conference for 10 AM tomorrow he’s resigning
I hope he shows up hungover.
And then Sox will hire the 2020 AL Manager of the Year! Ricky!
Say it ain’t so Tonio.
It’s only a DUI…….. well, I know two friends who lost family in a DUI….. one lost her 17 year old daughter and one lost a 19 year old sister. Both died in crashes caused by drunks.
So don’t just laugh it off !!
you cant make this stuff up
This hire was already a disaster. Let La Russa “resign” and find another coach.
The team doesn’t need the distraction of a coach who becomes the headline.
Reinsdorf should have let Rick Hahn do his job and not force his buddy as the new manager.
As of 9:35 p.m: This is shameful.
Hinch, Cora, La Russa. Do kids these days still revere professional sports or are they over that?
Nah, just the Marvels and the Batmen and whatnot.
heard of Jim Bouton? it was always a lie.
Heard of Babe Ruth?
Knowing MLB, they’ll replace LaRussa with Beltran
Drinking is such an intrinsic part of baseball culture so they don’t really take any alcohol related infractions seriously.
Jung-Ho Kang was trying to set some sort of DUI world record and Pirates still took him back.
Nothing will happen to La Russa.
I know I’ve commented a lot on this post, but deservedly so.
I use this metaphor a lot, but I’m yet again going to talk about the paper copier. In my world there is a man that just copies paper (and he’s terrible at it by the way I use him in my metaphors). This man just got a DUI, and when he returned to work the next day he was told by his employer that he was fired. No special speech, he was just told to pack up and head out. Now let’s look at the present day Chicago White Sox org. La Russa, a manager of a major North American sports team, is in the same situation. He, on the other hand, is told that he can keep his job. Oh, and La Russa did it twice… Something’s wrong with that.
So the moral of the story is don’t suck at your job so you can go get hammered on Old Fashioneds and roll your ride into stationary objects.
Taken a different way than anticipated though I like your reflection of the literature as well. lol
Second time’s the charm! Willing to risk this twice tells you a lot about him. Gone!
As a recovering alcoholic, I hope La Russa figures it out. It’s an arduous process. No one can make you stop drinking but yourself.
Sets a bad example. At least send him to rehab. Otherwise, just wait til the next time when he kills somebody, maybe himself.
I mean…. He didn’t go all Mel Gibson while being recorded, so this could have gone slightly worse than how it went. Still, my boo-urns from the announcement post stands, and is reinforced.
LaRussa could kill somebody driving drunk. It is not the same thing as cheating.
It’s really sad too since he had a player die while driving drunk after a game in STL back in something like 07 or 08 I think. Josh Hancock.
Yes, Josh Hancock killed himself crashing into the back of a parked flatbed tow truck after leaving broadcaster Mike Shannon’s restaurant and multiple players and coaches there visibly intoxicated.
One month after La Russa’s 2007 Spring Training DUI.
Complete lack of leadership on that issue by La Russa, then and now.
Seeing as how this happened in February, while with the Angels and we are just hearing about it now in November its reasonable to believe the White Sox knew of this upon hiring LaRussa. Firing him for something he did while employed elsewhere makes zero sense so its understandable that the White Sox will do nothing in this matter.
I do agree that it was dangerously irresponsible of LaRussa to get behind the wheel while impaired but i do not agree with those calling for blood for what could have happened rather than what did happen
I just want to quote this “i do not agree with those calling for blood for what could have happened rather than what did happen”. You do realize that what did happen (DUI) is what we are “out for blood” because of… right? It would have been 10 times worst if he had killed somebody doing it, but this is an incredibly irresponsible matter that shouldn’t be accepted no matter where, how, or when it happened.
It could have been worse and it wasn’t. I’m not absolving him of any wrong doing but demanding he be fired for something that literally has no barring on the White Sox as he was employed by the Angels makes no sense. If you did something wrong at a previous job would you expect and be ok with your new job firing you or would you hope to be given a chance? Our mistakes do not define us. Had someone been injured or worse would be another matter entirely but that is not the case here
Also… NOT the first time…
Was there a BAT? If so, what was his BAC? Why did they wait 10 months to press charges? Never heard of that before, have you? Innocent until proven guilty, right? SO many reasons not to jump to conclusions with very few facts.
“A light odor of alcoholic beverage?” Report sounds like the sommelier read it: “I think you might enjoy this vintage,,,,,it’s fruity, but with a tannic notes, and a light odor of alcoholic beverage.”
Odor from Bengay.
It’s fine. Leave the guy alone.
What exactly is a peace officer?
One would think that someone at his age would know better. And considering he has another shot at managing, this is what he does.
This was before he got the job in Chicago. Good try.
It was a day before it was announced. You think he hadn’t interviewed to that point? Lol what a stupid line of reasoning
He wasn’t officially hired yet so he didn’t know he had a second chance!
It was February, they knew about it, so he won’t be fired. I’m sure he is under zero tolerance.
Why did they wait 8 months to charge him?
La Russa is a bad person. Great hire for the Twins & Indians.
Maybe he will be safer to society as a manager, taking team flights and buses all over the place. Just let him serve his penalty or debt to society and all will be OK… just like Hinch and Cora.
Now I see why MLBTR closes the comments for some articles.
Yeah it’s usually one that have a criminal offense in them. Like the article about the guy that was arrested for murder. Surprise this one is still open.
You would hope the White Sox were aware of the charges files the day before they hired him,
Could be that the White Sox did look into it before they hired him, and some public servant looked at the report due to the inquiry, and realized it had fallen thru the cracks, so as long as it was in his hand, decided he would finish processing it. THE DAY BEFORE HE WAS HIRED!
LaRussa comes from an era when managers had to go down to the city jails on Saturday or Sunday morning and bail players out for drunken disorderly conduct / fighting in public the night before. Maybe this time around in Chicago, the players will have to come bail him out? Just be thankful he didn’t hurt anyone while driving drunk. I’m guessing he didn’t take a breathalyzer test so that’s why this has taken so long to charge him. Not sure if MLB should suspend him since this took place prior to his current employment but it certainly isn’t a good start for the Chicago chapter of his career. Manfred might ask him for 10 Hail Marys and 20 Livin’ in America’s as his penance.
Zero respect for White Sox leadership hiring this crusty old bag of human garbage
I saw LaRussa eat a sandwich in St. Louis and he had a spot of mustard in the corner of his mouth and on his shirt sleeve, just above his wrist. Proof that he can’t keep all of his food in his mouth while he chews. Cmon, Tony, get it together. Why in the world would you have Jeff Fassero pitching late in games during the 2002 post season, and now this!
Rick renteria is somewhere laughing
It’s a travesty in our country that DUI is about equivalent to jaywalking. I’m exaggerating, but, there’s a reason why people get caught doing it so much. We more or less encourage the stupidity by not putting these people in jail for a couple months on their first offense or giving them some hard labor etc. That you didn’t hurt yourself should NOT be the primary concern here – even if Tony’s fine, he still decided to operate a deadly machine while wasted.
The thing is, not every DWI everywhere in the country is some guy who had an entire bottle of Jim Beam and was slamming into parked cars and running red lights, then could hardly speak when stopped by the officer, and peed in the squad car on his way to jail. DWIs by far are the most litigious offense out there… because it’s 1) common 2) often deadly and 3) always costs tens of thousands of dollars and can cost offenders their licenses and livelihoods, every element of a DWI is scrutinized.
Officers have to be able to articulate everything, they have to follow protocols and conduct tests in very specific ways for evidence to be legally admissible… and if there’s hiccups somewhere in the circumstances of the case the cases are often plead down to something like reckless driving or dropped altogether.
So, should drunk drivers be punished, yes. Can you send people to jail for up to 90 days for misdemeanors (here anyway), yes. Are you going to have to fight lawyers tooth and nail to get substantial jail time for offenses that usually don’t carry any jail time without aggravating factors, yes.
I got a dui and it nearly ruined my life. I’m not a millionaire so it affected me in every way possible; my job, my finances, my relationships with people were all turned upside down. It’s not a slap on the wrist.
See, that’s the thing… the overwhelming majority of DWIs are normal people who made a mistake, not some raging alcoholic circling life’s drain that puts Jack Daniels on their corn flakes in the morning. Drinking impairs judgment, so otherwise good law abiding people make poor decisions, and even if the case is plead down or dropped it’s incredibly costly. It might only amount to a couple hours in jail but that’s far from nothing.
The few hours I spent in jail has been long forgotten but everything else affects me to this day.
If the White Sox knew about this, this is not a good look.
You bring an old vet with tons of October experience and multiple World Series rings to lead a young team, and this is the example? Did the White Sox bring LaRussa in to change the culture? If so, this is not how you want to kick things off just days after being hired. I am sure the organization will be proactive with this situation and they will move on. Nonetheless this is not the tone you want to send to your up and coming team after you fired the potential Manager of the Year (will be announced later today).
La Booza’s been at it a long time. At least the White Sox are getting their wish of more press than the Cubs.
What an inspiration. Maybe he can make it to his 3rd one and still not kill someone.
So this is left open for commentary, whilst on most occasions when such issues arise the comments section is closed by a moderator/administrator. Why the double standard?
Completely agree.
The man has earned millions.
And he is old.
He can’t hire a driver!!??
That is my thought too.
While i despise larussa, being a Cubs fan, I gotta say that I feel for him. He’s a person, and he seems to have a problem. I’ve been there and technically still am. Alcohol is the devil.
So if he goes to jail for 10 days…will he be allowed to manage the team from his jail cell during that time?
I wish our society did a better job with this heinous crime but we are so obsessed with drinking that we never will solve this problem. And so it goes.
Not sure how this heinous? He drove up on a curb and had a slight odor of alcohol. It’s not like he plowed into a bunch of people
So it’s only bad when you kill people? Wow.
All you “perfect” people crack me up. It’s been quite a few years since TLR got his DUI when he was with the Cardinals. And with this most recent situation, he’s yet to have his day in court. So what happened to innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers?
Since when did they wait nine months after the incident to charge somebody with DUI? That’s pretty odd
Thank goodness that Chicago is full of Uber drivers so Tony La Russa does not have to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle after a night of boozing it up.
There was a time when many people would only pay lip service to the idea that drunk driving was a bad thing.
Now, evidently, they feel comfortable openly minimizing or even defending it.
Defending themselves by proxy, no doubt.
Yes.. he should do some sort of punishment 10 days in jail… how are all the looters caught on camera doin? Oh I forgot that’s ok to do because they are peaceful protesters. Look in the mirror guys. maybe he needs help. But don’t make him out to be some villain.
No, Mr. Rocket Scientist, there are peaceful protesters and there are looters. Amazingly, they are not the same people. Just like there are people who drink, there are people who drive, and there are people who drink and drive. Again, they are not the same people. I feel the same way about looters as I do about drunk drivers. Pond scum. But try with that tiny brain of yours to differentiate among the seemingly endless huddled masses of people who might have honorable lives to live that many of them are not nearly as myopic and ignorant as you seem to be with your comments.
Whyhazee
So you’ve never done anything wrong in your “perfect” live? Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?
Done MANY things wrong and owned up to them. But I haven’t done stupid unnecessary things to put human lives in jeopardy. Our society seems to believe that’s the definition of freedom. Hardly. What we have here is a failure to communicate. Think about the consequences BEFORE you act. Learn from those mistakes where you didn’t consider the consequences first. And don’t put people’s lives in jeopardy by your childish selfish stupid behavior. And if you screw up, take responsibility and accept punishment. Then move on a little bit wiser.
Wow… so that’s a reply?? Looks like anger issues.. whyhazze. Want to be a tough guy on your phone. Douche
Shut up
Congrats on the most irrelevant & most idiotic response about this article! ♂️
The Breitbart forums are over there, son.
Why would anyone be surprised by this? The guy is a raging alcoholic and has been for years. This is his lifestyle and is not going to change until he hurts or kills someone. White Sox knew what and who they were hiring.
I got a dui and was required to take a class. In the class they told us it takes 3 beers to go over the legal limit. I dont think any of us are impaired after 3 drinks. If anything we pay better attention.
Right, but who gets pulled over after 3 beers? Not trolling. I’ve had one. It sucked. But I def didn’t have only three beers.
Wut
Maybe this is karma being he started the lefty/ righty crap that mlb made a rule about it last yr..( both larussa’s and mlb were stupid ideas)
None of this should be surprising. La Russa’s trash and has been forever. The fact that he WAS a great manager doesn’t change that, and isn’t in any way relevant to his character.
And the Sox knew who he was and what he was, and knowing all of it Reinsdorf still chose to reanimate the fossil. Of course there’s not going to be any punishment or accountability. If there was, they wouldn’t have hired him in the first place.
An 80s manager with an 80s attitude toward drinking and driving.
Nowhere in that Nightengale’s article it says TLR will neither lose his job nor face any discipline from the team
If he goes to jail for 10 days… Will he be allowed to manage the White Sox from his jail cell? In
Awesom-O…did you get that the night you were out drinking with your mom?
The comment section for this article is absolutely toxic. If you want to assassinate Larussa’s character I suggest you first look to his philanthropy of disabled veterans and shelter animal organizations in which he’s deeply involved. Yes he made a very poor decision, and I’m sure he’d be the first to tell you that, but to sit back assume judgement behind a username when you don’t know the facts or the man personally is so played and facile.
He’s made this same bad decision twice now–or at least, he’s been caught twice. If he runs down someone while he’s been drinking, his philanthropy is something he can tell the judge about at this sentencing. That doesn’t excuse his actions, or make him a good person.
Let me be clear that I’m not defending what he did at all, and honestly I think if I were in his shoes I would issue a public apology and resign. However, to your point, everyone saying he could have killed someone is speaking from a stance of pure conjecture. Did he kill anyone? Hurt anyone? No. Driving under the influence is a potentially deadly decision, not a mistake, I get it. So is texting and driving, so is reckless driving, I’m not saying they’re the same morally, and definitely not optically, but the pure vitriol over something that millions of Americans have been guilty of, let alone the tens of millions who have done it but weren’t caught, I think is undue. Good people make poor decisions, good people have problems that they struggle with. There are a lot of “perfect citizens” who show up in comment sections who, most of them probably have their own share of dirty laundry that would be unsightly if not shameful under the spotlight as well. Also, I have to wonder why this comment section was left open at all. Articles relating to COVID, domestic violence, sex offenses, etc. are all closed to comments.. Anyway, cheers and good day to you
soxmachine.com/2020/11/09/tony-la-russa-was-charge…
Sox fandom is starting to turn on him already (me among them). Not a fan of this hire, and I was tolerant of the hire initially – but now… think Frank Thomas would mind stepping in?
If convicted, he’ll pay his debt to society. Once paid, we move on. That’s America.
Can’t believe comments are on for this one. Lol
While on a hike north of the Bay Area just after the 1988 World Series, I encountered Tony La Russa and his wife. Just so happened I was wearing an A’s cap. I said hello and expressed something conciliatory about their loss in the WS to the Dodgers. He was surly and did not engage. A true hard ass…
The thing about Larussa is TWO DUI’s. After one, learn your lesson. Maybe educate yourself and skip the one.
Did Larussa ever manage a team that didn’t abuse steroids? Weren’t Larissa’s Oakland and St. Louis teams found to be ramped with steroid abuse? Isn’t this a form of cheating? Doesn’t Larussa bear some responsibility in empowering Mark Maguire and Jose Canseco to blatantly abuse the rules of baseball? Didn’t Larussa look the other way while all of this was going on?
Aside from your McGwire inference here, where have you ever heard StL was rampant with steroid abuse?
LaRusso certainly has the look of a boozer! Good luck White Sox!
Sounds like the police department was giving him a free pass and now that he’s in the spotlight again they decided to charge him to avoid controversy. Typical good boys club BS
Do you think he would have even got a ticket he not approved the Dansby Swanson trade……?
Funny how people reacted to my comment when he got hired. But no, he’s not a drunk… (peace officer was probably black, hence why he was argumentative)
Been a White Sox fan since 1960. Been through many bad years. Was really looking forward to this year with many very good young and talented players. Even when the TLR hiring was announced I wasn’t thrilled but was certainly willing to see if he could bond with his players and make it work. He’s absolutely a good manager.
This, however, is too much. It’s bad enough that TLR didn’t learn his lesson. This is how people get killed. Someone thinks they are ok to drive after drinking. Even more pathetic is the Sox hiring him after knowing the facts. What’s the up side here? I mean….really? They knew and yet thought they could hire him with no outrage from the fans and players?
He needs to step away gracefully. If he doesn’t want to, he needs to be let go. Unfortunately for the Sox I’m sure they would have to pay him since they knew prior to the hiring. If Hahn wasn’t on board he needs to go to an employer who doesn’t hire drunks.
Pathetic
Man, that must have been one heck of an investigation to have taken from February to the end of October to finally file the charges.
So wait, did they not breathalyze him? They did a freakin blood test on me when I got my dui.
This should be an automatic suspension by MLB, and it should be rough for a 2nd time offender.. It will be interesting to see someone start off their new contract by being away from the team for a month.