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One of my former heroes, Jim Leyritz, (I'll never forget that eighth inning homer against Mark Wohlers in game 4 of the '96 WS) has been hospitalized, after threatening suicide.

This is on the Sun Sentinel:

DAVIE - Jim Leyritz, the beleaguered ex- New York Yankee, was in Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines on Thursday, taken there by a Davie police officer after he called a relative in New Jersey threatening suicide, according to Davie Police Lt. Bill Coyne.

Leyritz, 45, is facing DUI manslaughter charges stemming from the December 2007 crash that killed Fredia Veitch, 30, in Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? - Click Here..

Leyritz, a Davie resident, became upset Wednesday night because a court-ordered monitoring device installed in his car to monitor his blood alcohol content prevented his vehicle from starting, Coyne said.

Davie police do not have a written report of the incident, Coyne said.

Leyritz was allowed to post bond after his arrest but was again jailed last February after prosecutors argued that a monitoring device installed on Leyritz's car to measure his alcohol consumption showed that on four occasions from September 2008 to February 2009 he drove after consuming alcohol.

Leyritz was jailed for five days, then released on a technicality.


It's amazing what alcohol can make on any person. When alcohol gets on you, you're lost. Leyritz's situation is a shame. My prayers for him, hoping he eventually can get out of this mess.

This is an incredibly sad thing. I know alcohol can really take hold of some people, and sadly, Leyritz is stuck deep.

I've heard that he has tried to drive a number of times and the monitoring device has stopped him. I would have hoped that he would have had a wake up call after the death that he caused.

Its not an excuse for him, but I really don't think he can help himself, and that is tragic. I agree he needs our prayers. This whole mess is sad for all the parties involved.

Pete Abe posted a link to a story about Jim Leyritz in case any of you didn't see it and are interested. Seems there's more to his case than perhaps we thought. Not that it excuses his drinking and driving, but maybe with the evidence, there will be a way that he gets a lesser penalty, I don't know.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/colum ... 62949.html

That article makes me angry. Yeah, it doesn't excuse his drinking and driving. But, if the "facts" that he presents are all true, there is no way in hell he should end up in jail. I didn't know that the woman who died was intoxicated also (moreso than Leyritz, it seems). Add into that the fact that she was texting while driving, AND, that it isn't clear he really did go through a red light (some evidence that it may have been yellow)...it just makes me angry. All the media wants to tell us is that two kids lost their mom. What about the three that could lose their dad? I start thinking about the scenes of mother's crying on camera, "He was such a good boy, he never hurt anybody!", after their son is convicted on a murder charge or something like it. Yes, Leyritz didn't something horrible and now he has to live with the consequences. But I'm starting to think the "victim" was just as culpable.

I hope that he gets a compassionate but firm and fair judge. Jim needs help, but he also needs to take a look at himself and realize that only he can help himself. Alcohol is a drug. A dangerous and addictive drug. Prayers out for Jim Leyritz and his family.

Seems like personal demons bedeviled two people involved, and that is sad. One is beyond us now. The other, Leyritz, I pray that he finds a way to overcome...