Cardinals manager arrested for DUI in Florida
ESPN.com news services
JUPITER, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was arrested early Thursday and charged with misdemeanor DUI after he was found asleep at the wheel in his running SUV at a green light.
Tony La Russa was hit with a DUI charge 10 days before his Cardinals begin defense of their World Series title.
La Russa's SUV was stopped at a light that, according to police, went through two cycles of green. A driver behind La Russa had to go around his vehicle, police said.
Police found La Russa slumped over in the driver's seat of the running SUV. The manager of the world champion Cardinals had his foot on the brake and did not respond to knocks on the window, police said. He finally woke up and parked the car.
Police said they noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath, and a field sobriety test was conducted.
The 62-year-old La Russa was sent to the Palm Beach County Jail around 4 a.m., according to the jail's Web site. La Russa provided breath samples, which measured at a .093 blood alcohol level, police said. The legal limit for drivers in Florida is 0.08.
Police didn't immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The Cardinals play spring training games at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.
La Russa arrived at Cardinals camp at about 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, got into his uniform and was on the main field as the team went through its morning stretching routine.
At 10 a.m. he went into a previously-scheduled meeting with team ownership.
About a dozen reporters were camped outside the Cardinals clubhouse as La Russa passed by on his way into the meeting. When asked if he planned to speak to the media, he said "I was out on the field ... where were you guys?"
He declined comment on the arrest to a St. Louis newspaper reporter.
Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said the team planned to release a written statement regarding the incident on Thursday.
"Tony will be happy to take any baseball questions but that's all he's going to be doing," Bartow said. "Obviously there's a legal process and we have to wait for that play out."
Bartow said that to his knowledge, La Russa had yet to address the team about the incident.
This is just crazy, what is he doing being that old and getting that sloshed?