"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Department of Yikes

Miguel Cabrera’s swigging-scotch-in-front-of-the-arresting-officer DUI last month was already firmly in the bad news category, but details are emerging – as details will – that make it seem even scarier. According to the Detroit News:

Before his drunken driving arrest last month, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera threatened to “blow up” a bar that refused to serve him and then told police to shoot him, according to a police report released Wednesday that reveals new details….

…Cabrera walked into the Cowboys Bar-B-Q & Steak Co. after last call and was asked to leave, bar manager Fletcher Nail said in a statement to police.

The ballplayer ignored the manager and walked up to a table of strangers and began talking to them, said Nail.

When Nail again asked him to leave, Cabrera patted a bag on his shoulder and leaned down close to the manager’s face.

“You don’t know me,” Cabrera told him. “I will kill you. I know all of you, and I will kill all of you and blow this place up.”

The News also has video of the arrest, but I felt uncomfortable watching; it’s too embarrassing. Anyway, you don’t even know what’s really going on with a public figure lie Cabrera, but if he doesn’t have a serious problem he’s doing a great impression of someone who does, and I hope the Tigers are doing what’s best for him.

Meanwhile the Mariners recently started giving players and employees key fobs with the number of car services on them. That’s one of those good common sense sort of things that can only help, and can’t hurt, but I always wonder how much responsibility – if any – clubs have, or ought to have, for their players’ extracurricular behavior. A guy who drives his Rolls Royce drunk despite having a truck of security professionals with him is probably not going to be reasoned with.

One comment

1 Chyll Will   ~  Mar 10, 2011 12:17 pm

I have to believe that MLB has the right approach in place: administer and regulate the game as it relates to on-field play and behavior; let the clubs have authority over how they represent the individual club philosophy, mission and goals with thee MLB as more of an advisor than a dictator. As such, it's really up to the players, directors, managers and coaches in the clubhouse to influence (not regulate) the behavior of each player. There's only so much responsibility even they can take for each other; it's up to the player as an individual. Compared to basketball and football at least, baseball balances its responsibilities with individual player responsibility quite well overall. Not perfect, but well.

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