Baseball needs a backbone regarding DUIs
March 27th, 2007Great article by Keith Law about the way Major League Baseball winks at the alcohol problem in the game.
Baseball has a drinking problem, but it’d prefer that you not know about it. Dontrelle Willis was also nailed for DUI this offseason, but it barely made a ripple. Gustavo Chacin was charged with DUI earlier this month, received no sanction or suspension, and hasn’t even taken La Russa’s step of issuing an apology. Last year, Esteban Loaiza was caught driving 120 mph, drunk, and if anything, he punished Oakland by continuing to pitch like Esteban Loaiza. Alcohol is an accepted part of the fabric of the game; there is free beer in almost every clubhouse, and there are beer billboards on every stadium wall and beer ads on TV during nearly every commercial break.
Law nailed it with this one.
Francisco Liriano got busted for DUI down in Florida during last year’s spring training, and it rated less than a paragraph in the local papers. I don’t think the national press even touched it when he started striking out everyone in sight last summer. Law is right - MLB, the teams, and the media pretty much look the other way.
In my opinion, there should be a minimum suspension, a hefty fine, and mandatory counseling/rehab if a player or manager gets caught driving drunk. None of this “wait for the legal process to play out” BS. The only way these guys will wake up is if their playing time and their wallets take a hit.
I’m not sure I’ve ever agreed with anything Keith Law has ever written, but I do this time.
But where would the Cardinals be without Anheiser-Busch?
Great article.
Bill is exactly right. That’s one of the first thoughts that came through my mind when the LaRussa story broke. He wouldn’t get so much as a slap on the wrist due to the Cards being so tight with A-B.
Shame on A-B. This would have been a great opportunity for them to show that they really are serious about responsible drinnking (as they say in their commercials). They should have put pressure on the Cards to send a message to LaRussa that drinking irresponsibly is not acceptable and as the major alcohol sponsor of the Cards, they are not pleased with his recent behavior.
Like that’s going to happen.
Speaking for us Florida residents — perhaps the team should provide courtesy transportation for all its player and protect the public good.