News of Hancock Prompts Beer Ban

The news is out, Cardinal pitcher Josh Hancock was legally drunk at the time of his wreck, at almost twice the legal limit. Apparently he was talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash as well. So the speculation is over and the worst nightmares are confirmed. Nonetheless, it's sad to see him go.

The news, reported by the St. Louis Police Department this morning, has prompted a St. Louis Cardinals Organization press conference. The conference is taking place as I type and the basic idea behind it is that the team will be incorporating a zero-tolerance policy on the organization's members. The details are sketchy at this point, but it sounds like there will be no more beer in the clubhouse and no more drinking after games. It's hard to say what "zero-tolerance" means at this point. I would imagine it's not legal for the Cardinals to say to its members, "you can't drink at all." But who knows? Maybe there's a legal clause that states when an organization is paying you millions and millions of dollars, they have control over your social life as well. We should know all the details soon.

Many locals have been calling for this. Others won't understand it. There's two ways of looking at it, I guess. Most of the time, you're not allowed to crack into a cold beer at the office after a long day of work. Essentially, that's what the Cardinals are doing. Their job is baseball. Their office is the clubhouse. If you can't do it at a sky rise while working for a multi-million dollar industry, then why can you do it while working on a baseball field?

On the other hand, beer has always been a part of baseball. Banning beer from the clubhouse is like banning cigarettes at bars. It's UN-American, but they're doing it anyway. In the end, they're both a good thing - there's no debating that. But how far do we go? Yes, the athletes are old enough to be responsible for themselves. But, on the other hand, Major League Baseball probably shouldn't allow their players to drink at the ballpark and then drive home...simply for the safety of other people.

I'd be down with a two beer limit to all players while at the ballpark. Or having Major League teams install a breathalyzer that players must blow into before they're allowed to leave the clubhouse. This wouldn't be expensive, and it would make things safe.

I don't agree, however, with banning beer completely. This is baseball. Let's make it safe while still honoring the tradition.

I understand it's not about the legends of baseball at this point, it's only about saving lives and making things as safe as possible. But you have to admit that imagining Babe Ruth up there in baseball heaven during the Cardinals press conference today is entertaining. With the news of a beer ban in the clubhouse, you can just see Babe leaning on a wooden bat with a big ole fat cigar hanging from his mouth and a beer in his right hand. He's probably looking at Gehrig and grumbling, "damnit, Lou, you believe this shit?"