Image via Wikipedia
Two figures in the baseball world faced DUI arrests recently, adding their names to the long list of prominent athletes to face scrutiny about their drinking and driving.
Delino DeShields Jr. is a youngster on the verge of his pro career, while Ozzie Canseco is the twin brother of major league star and steroid poster boy Jose Canseco, who only played a few games at the highest level.
DeShields, an infielder in the Houston Astros organization who is not even old enough to drink alcohol legally, was stopped on suspicion of drunk driving while headed the wrong way on a one-way street in Georgia.
DeShields Jr., the son of former major league baseball player Delino DeShields, admitted to having consumed some alcohol at a University of Georgia fraternity party, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The police suspected that he had drunk more than he admitted to, and in fact he registered a .076 blood alcohol content at the scene of the police stop. The legal limit for those under the age of 21 is .02 percent. DeShields recently turned 18.
Also in DeShields’ SUV were four open bottles of alcohol. With that, he logged three charges related to the stop: underage possession of alcohol, DUI and the driving violation for driving the wrong way on a one-way street.
DeShields took responsibility for the incident via a statement on his Facebook page, which stated “I take the responsibility of being a role model seriously and apologize to my fans, my community and the Astros organization, who continue to support my family and I during this unfortunate incident. I look forward to putting this matter behind me.â€Â
The DUI charge and hearing will not impact DeShields’ trip to spring training in February, the first of his young career after being selected by the Astros in the first round of the 2010 draft.
Ozzie Canseco, who is in a far different stage of his career, faces DUI concerns of his own, after being pulled over at 2 in the morning in Hillsborough, Florida, according to ABC News.
The twin brother of slugger and steroid user Jose Canseco registered a .108 and .109 blood alcohol content when tested. He is currently the baseball director at a local sporting goods center in Florida.
He had a long career in the minor leagues and the independent leagues, starting in 1983 and continuing into the early 2000s.
Ozzie has been charged with DUI. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to possession of anabolic steroids after a traffic stop.
top tight-end NFL draft prospect, Orson Charles, got himself booked for a DUI in Georgia, reports The Tampa Tribune.
