• 13
  • May
    2011

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie recently published a message on his Twitter account that questioned the difference in consequences among some people in professional baseball who have gotten into some high-profile trouble lately. As reported by Jerry Crasnick on ESPN, Major League Baseball fined White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen a hefty $20,000 because Guillen criticized some umpires.

But the MLB fine for two baseball players arrested for driving under the influence (DUI)? No fines.

This shows that - yes, there are certainly repercussions for a drunk driving arrest in criminal law, as any DWI defense attorney will tell you - but there may be nothing to worry about when it comes to MLB discipline if you're a professional ballplayer. Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie seems to argue just that.

As reported by Crasnick, Guthrie said, "As an individual, I don't necessarily want Major League Baseball or anyone else to do anything. I would just hope the players involved can be more responsible, just as I would expect any standard licensed driver to be responsible, because you're putting someone's life in danger. The only difference between receiving a DUI and killing someone is luck."

That is sometimes true. It's also often true that many "drunk" drivers are first-time offenders just over the legal limit. It only takes a few drinks or less, depending on body type and other factors, to go over the limit. Cast in those terms, an arrest for drunk driving is a mistake that could happen to anyone.

The common first-time DUI offender's circumstances and behavior (a couple drinks, a poor decision and bad luck) draw a stark contrast between the behavior of one professional ballplayer, Miguel Cabrera, who, when pulled over by the police, took a pull from his bottle of Scotch whisky right in front of the officer.

Source: Alcohol-related issues spark debate