The Tragic Fall of Matt Bush
A former Major League Baseball No. 1 draft pick battles alcoholism. He’s now in jail, charged with three felonies:
“In a sport where alcohol plays such a massive part in all social settings—on the same day Bush was arrested, Boston reliever Bobby Jenks, another player with alleged alcohol issues, was charged with a hit-and-run DUI as well—there was a great story in Bush’s continued sobriety, one to tell when he finally arrived in the big leagues. Like Josh Hamilton, another former top overall pick who struggled with addiction, Bush’s successes were redemptive, even inspiring to addicts who fight to stay clean for even a day or a week. During a two-hour conversation last spring, Bush detailed the goriest times of his life, the lowest of lows, sure that talking about them would prevent their recurrence.
“‘If you want to hear the whole story, I can give it to you,’ he said. ‘It might take a while.’
Sabermetrician In Exile
A decade after Baseball Prospectus let Voros McCracken spread the gospel in a story that popularized DIPS across the sport, it remains among the most seminal theories developed by sabermetrics, the nickname given to quantitative baseball study. It’s almost certainly the most revolutionary. Nothing before or since has so upended an entire line of thought and forced teams to assess a wide breadth of players in a different fashion. Of course, one great idea guarantees nothing. McCracken lives paycheck to paycheck. He couldn’t make rent on his apartment last year.