One of my favorite players growing up was first baseman Mark Grace. Despite the fact that he played for the despicable Chicago Cubs, Grace was a local and I was able to enjoy his company on numerous occasions at the local watering hole.
At the time, he seemed like such a stand-up guy. No way he had a drinking problem. I was an alcoholic. We drank together. I am starting to think Mark was and still is an alcoholic too. As reported in arizona.sbnation.com.
When I saw the press release from the Arizona Diamondbacks that said that the TV broadcaster and former player had requested a leave of absence from the team "to seek personal assistance," my heart went out to him.
Based on knowledge of life and sports and athletes and former athletes, some sort of problem with drinking seemed like the obvious reason for the time off. After all, he did have a drinking-related incident last year when he received a DUI violation. Then the next wave of news came, stating that he had been arrested for a DUI for the second time in as many years.
Still I feel for the guy. But why keep drinking and driving? That is an act that society views as one of the most heinous of betrayal to your fellow men and women. You just don't do it.
Everyone deserves a second chance. Perhaps, because he is a friend, I would like to see him get one more opportunity. I hope he takes an Arizona DUI class and the Diamondbacks organization works with him on his drinking problem.