The Matt Bush Story (San Diego: purchase, high school, maintenance)

[hitman619]

Anybody that's has a kid playing youth sports should have their kids red this article.
This the story of a local kid,born and raised in Suburbs of San Diego that fell from grace.

Ten years ago, Matt Bush was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft. He wound up becoming the third player taken in that slot to fail to make it to the bigs. Gabe Kapler paid a visit to Bush, who is as far from the majors as one could imagine.
Matt Bush was destined to be in a uniform. A brilliantly talented shortstop, Bush was selected by the San Diego Padres as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 amateur draft at 18 years old -- one spot ahead of Justin Verlander.
For the Padres, Bush was the local boy and hometown hero. He went to Mission Bay High School, just 10 miles from PETCO Park.
"I'm sitting in English class, and I told the teacher, 'Watch, check out the Internet, I'm about to be the first overall draft pick,'" Bush said. "And then, bam, it happened that way just like that. The next thing you know, the news is coming to my school, and a few days later I'm coming to class, and my head coach says, 'What're you doing here? You don't need to be here.' Even my teachers, I'm coming to take my final, they said, 'You can go, you don't have to take this. You're good to go.'"
It's 10 years later, and Bush is indeed wearing a uniform -- prison blues. As a boy he dreamed of wearing a number on his back, but DC# C07392 was not what he had in mind.
Bush's first arrest came two weeks after he was drafted on June 7, 2004. He was brought in on numerous charges stemming from an incident at a bar. His most recent arrest came eight years and three teams later, after he allegedly hit and ran over a Florida man, Tony Tufano, while driving drunk in March 2012.
I interviewed Bush at Hamilton Correctional Institution in Jasper, Florida, close to the Georgia line. He has been incarcerated since the spring of 2012 and our crew represented his first visitors.
Bush was tired and moving slowly when he showed up in the room selected for our chat. We conversed intimately in an old, exceptionally hot, minimally ventilated, out-of-service infirmary. The prison staff had neglected to alert Bush of our impending arrival, he said.
"They didn't even tell me you were coming," Bush told me before we turned on the cameras. "They just woke me up and brought me here."
The road Bush walks is littered with examples of numerous top athletes. What may appear to be a tragic waste of talent is often also a mind-boggling display of self-sabotage from which some have never recovered.
Bush isn't the first promising athlete to drink and drive. I played with an outfielder in the Detroit Tigers' system, Mike Darr. Mike was a supremely talented athlete and had a cannon for an arm, but he was legally drunk when he got in his car to head to spring training. He flipped his SUV across three lanes of highway and blasted through a fence, landing dramatically on a frontage road. He and his passenger, a longtime friend, were both killed.

The rest of the Story
Matt Bush: From No. 1 draft pick to DC# C07392 | FOX Sports on MSN

[AADAD]

I am grateful to you for posting this.

As a critical care RN I see the dramatic trauma of drinking and driving. From death to life long injuries and surgeries. Nothing can tell you what it is like to have loved ones at the bedside weeping at their child's death bed. Nothing can tell you what it is like to have your life together and come out after 7 years in prison.

In an instant due to a choice life is altered....forever.

Please, if you drink, do not drive a car.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by AADAD

I am grateful to you for posting this.

As a critical care RN I see the dramatic trauma of drinking and driving. From death to life long injuries and surgeries. Nothing can tell you what it is like to have loved ones at the bedside weeping at their child's death bed. Nothing can tell you what it is like to have your life together and come out after 7 years in prison.

In an instant due to a choice life is altered....forever.

Please, if you drink, do not drive a car.

This^^^^
Some people like to call DUI's accidents. I think it does a disservice to the victims family when you call a DUI death an accident.
I think this a great article to share with kids. This guy had 3 millions dollars at one time,now he sits in a jail cell because of his stupid life Decisions.
I just hope this Kid gets help and tell others about,Drinking and driving as well as alcoholism

[goodbye_hello]

USA is a nation built for cars not people. We are simply tools used to purchase the cars, fill them up with gasoline and work maintenance.

It is time USA takes the necessary step and makes the drinking limit 0.0. Force people to commit and make the decision before they even leave the house.

[sdurbanite]

Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for sharing this. Remember Ryan Leaf?

[JohnAlt]

Drunk driving is terrible but so is texting and driving. Our society is WAY behind in matching the offense to the penalty for the latter, which can be just as dangerous.

[JohnAlt]

Matt Bush was far from the top prospect in that draft, but the cheapskate Padres were trying to save money.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by JohnAlt

Matt Bush was far from the top prospect in that draft, but the cheapskate Padres were trying to save money.

yep!
But with all due respect the padres were looking for a SS.
Justin Verlander, Stephen Drew, Jared weaver(I think), Hunter pence, Dustin Perdroia were just a few in the draft that year

[Timmyy]

I would have loved to have Dustin Pedroia on the Padres. Scrappy player.

[Timmyy]

Also, imagine Verlander dealing on a regular basis at Petco. Whoa!