Tony La Russa displayed, in his words, “bad judgment that night in February.”

On Monday, the Chicago White Sox manager pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving at a change of plea hearing in Arizona. Additionally, he will pay a $1,383 fine, perform 20 hours of community service and spend one day in home detention.

“I brought this on myself,” La Russa said during a conference call. “I feel a deep remorse and regret over what I did.

“I am grateful for the White Sox for standing by me, even though this happened before they hired me. I really feel like I let them down and many others. My family, friends, and I think starting out in Chicago, I’ve let the fans down.

“I think about fans in Oakland and St. Louis, many of them became friends, and now starting again in Chicago, it’s not the way I wanted to start my relationship the second time around.”

La Russa, 76, said he appreciated the support he’s received from “everyone in the organization, including the players.”

“I know I need to prove myself and that’s both on and off the field.”

After the conference call, the Sox issued a statement, which read: “With today’s announcement, Tony La Russa accepted responsibility and has been held legally accountable for his 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.

“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. He has done his job exceptionally well in the past. He has always shown an ability to inspire his players and to bring his teams to a championship level. We are confident that Tony will improve our team, while improving himself.”

It was the second known DUI incident for La Russa, who was previously arrested in March 2007 in Jupiter, Fla., after he was found asleep at the wheel with his vehicle running in park at a stop sign. He pleaded guilty to that charge eight months later.

“I accept full responsibility for my conduct, and assure everyone that I have learned a very valuable lesson and that this will never occur again,” he said in a statement at the time according to The Associated Press.

Asked Monday if he thought he had a drinking problem, La Russa said, “I know I don’t have a drinking problem, just like I know I made a serious mistake in February. And where I am right now is to prove that I don’t have a drinking problem and to prove it every day off the field that I’m going to handle it.

“And what’s painfully clear to me is: If I have a drink, I will not drive. There’s always an alternative, have a car service, call Lyft, Uber, have a friend, if I’m with somebody. The options, the alternatives are going to help me prove that I’m going to take care of this issue the way it should be.”

La Russa took part in a 20-hour alcohol counseling course and said “it was very helpful.”

The Sox manager originally was charged with two Class 1 misdemeanor counts of driving while under the influence after a February arrest.

But the charge was reduced because La Russa was “found to be over the legal threshold by a small amount,” his lawyer Larry Kazan said in a statement.

ESPN first reported the original charges Nov. 10, less than two weeks after the Sox announced La Russa’s hiring. A Sox spokesman said at the time of the report the organization was aware of the arrest before hiring the Hall of Famer on Oct. 29.

“The day I was hired, there were legitimate questions about being away from the game, whether I was still in touch, had the game changed, could I relate,” La Russa said. “And those were legitimate. I look forward to proving that I could answer those in a positive way and make a positive contribution to our ballclub and our goals to be a championship team.

“When this hit, immediately after that, it’s a serious downer. Fans should be concerned because it’s a mistake that is totally avoidable and I’m pleased that I’m having a chance to talk publicly about the anger that I feel for myself for making that mistake. I know how serious when you have a drink and you decide to drive, what a mistake, how serious that mistake is.

“There hasn’t been a day since February and even when it became public that I haven’t been upset with myself and feel tremendous remorse or regret.”

La Russa said the remorse is “going to weigh heavily with me every single day and that is going to show itself by my determination to prove myself.”