Let’s start with the bad news:  By now, you’ve probably already read that Shin-Soo Choo was arrested for drunk driving early Monday morning. He failed field sobriety tests and blew a .20 on the Breathalyzer, which is more than twice the legal limit. He’s already made the obligatory apology to his teammates and family and went 0-4 in the Indians’ win over the A’s last night. He says he doesn’t want it to be a distraction for the team, and I hope it isn’t. What’s disconcerting is he’s the second Indian and sixth MLB player to get a DUI in 2011, and we’re only a third of the way through the year.  Nobody wants 2011 to turn into the Year of the DUI Player (see 2010: the Year of the Pitcher). Yes, players are human. Yes, we’ve all made mistakes. But putting aside any concern for the potential injury or harm you might bring upon another person if you drive while drunk  (the family of Nick Adenhart may have an opinion on that one), if your livelihood depends upon you being at your physical peak, why would you risk serious injury by driving while under the influence? The league minimum is about $400,000 a year; you can afford to call a cab or these folks.

The good news: Choo was also named the most underrated player in baseball in a Sports Illustrated poll of 259 MLB players.

Well, duh.

2 Comments

  • MHagesfeld says:

    So what’s your take on him playing last night? You’re absolutely correct that this is a problem, in MLB, professional sports, and society at large. For the Indians to allow him to play on this road trip, much less last night, seems to me an indication that they are not taking this seriously enough. I realize that there will be legal ramifications of some sort, and it isn’t the Indians’ responsibility to deal with that, but I think passing on applying ANY sort of discipline sends the wrong message to the team and the public.

  • Joe says:

    I don’t know that I really agree. Players of major sports are of adults (at least in a technical sense) and I don’t think it’s the responsibility of the league to disciple its players for off-field antics (although in certain cases it may be to their benefit). I work for a publicly traded Corporation and would go ballistic if my employer attempted to fine me for my actions. Further, were I (God forbid) to get a DUI, I think my company would be in the wrong to hand down any extra-legal punishment. Why do we ask leagues to discipline players for off-field misbehavior?

1 Trackback or Pingback