Why do baseball players making millions of dollars make the poor decision to drive after drinking alcohol? I should really extend this question as to why anyone chooses to drive after drinking since the costs and consequences far out-weigh the cost of taking a taxi.
The latest Major League Baseball player to get arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) is Boston Red Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks.
In a public statement, according to ESPN, Jenks admits he is embarrassed by the situation and apologized to his teammates and to the Red Sox organization for any distractions he may have caused.
Jenks was arrested and charged with five misdemeanors, including driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a crash involving damage to property. The incident occurred during Spring Training in Florida.
The 31-year-old Jenks was booked at 3:43 a.m. He had agreed to a field sobriety test but told officers he was going to fail it. He stopped halfway through and admitted to being “messed up.”
During the test, Jenks indicated he couldn't complete it because he was "messed up." Jenks was then arrested, according to the report.
Before the sobriety test, Jenks was asked whether he had taken anything other than muscle relaxers and again kept telling the truth that he had just left a bar where he had hit another vehicle.
Bouncers as the bar had offered to call Jenks a cab. He should have taken them up on their offer. Hopefully, this will serve as a wake-up call to both Jenks and other MLB players. Perhaps the MLB Players Association will start mandating alcohol classes for its members.