As a fan of all baseball I followed the high school career of Matt Bush with great enthusiasm. As a San Diego Padres fan I was both excited, yet disappointed when the team selected Bush with the #1 overall pick in the 2004 draft.
I was excited because he was a dynamic player. I was disappointed because I wanted the team to draft Jarrod Weaver.
Now, at the ripe age of 24, according to the Sporting News, Bush’s career could be over unless he pulls a miracle like Texas Rangers’ all-star Josh Hamilton.
Now pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays minor-league team, Bush, who remained in jail today after last week’s DUI hit-and-run accident that left a motorcyclist hospitalized in critical condition, won’t ever play for the Rays.
Bush has battled alcohol abuse since he was the No. 1 overall draft pick as a shortstop by the San Diego Padres. He is facing seven charges from the incident.
The motorcyclist was hit by Bush’s SUV from behind, with the rider sustaining multiple injuries including broken ribs, several broken bones in his back, a broken wrist, road rash covering both arms, hemorrhaging in his brain and a collapsed lung.
Bush, who has admitted to having an alcohol problem, went through rehab in 2010 before signing with the Rays as a minor league free agent. He was randomly tested for alcohol when he first joined the organization, but those tests ended when he was placed on the 40-man roster before the 2011 season and became a member of the Major League Baseball Players Association.
The cyclists fell from the motorcycle and his head was run over by the SUV driven by Bush, who then left the scene but was later arrested and charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. He blew a .180 blood-alcohol level on a field sobriety test.
Good God how alcohol kills true talent. Bush has had many run-ins but is still young enough to rebound from this situation. With an 16 hour alcohol awareness class, (perhaps a California alcohol class), AA meetings, counseling and dedication to staying sober, perhaps Bush’s God-given talents can be witnessed by everyone.