Baseball & DUI

I was reading National Review Online's new sports blog, Right Field, when I learned that Cleveland Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was arrested on Monday night for drunk driving.

Choo is the sixth MLB player to be arrested for a DUI offense since the beginning of this calendar year. Just last week, Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe was arrested and was actually racing other vehicles on the road. When Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera (who has a well documented problem with alcohol) was arrested for DUI last February, Cabrera is alleged to have said, "F#*k you. Do you know who I am?" Other MLB players to have been arrested this year for impaired driving include Oakland Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp, Seattle Mariners infielder Adam Kennedy as well as Choo's teammate Austin Kearns.

The obvious question is, "What are these guys are thinking?" The obvious answer is that they are drinking instead of thinking. If they were thinking, they might remember that St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in a traffic accident in 2007. Not only was Hancock impaired at the time of the accident but he was talking on his cell phone and had marijuana in his vehicle. If they were thinking, they might remember that Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends were killed by a drunk driver in 2009. The driver had a previous conviction for DUI and was on probation at the time of the accident. Last December, he was sentenced to 51 years in prison.

MLB ought to suspend any player arrested for DUI. If they don't, sooner or later, one of these players is going to end up killing someone.