Leyritz charged with DUI homicide

[Frayed Knot]

Former major leaguer Jim Leyritz, who played the hero in the Yankees' 1996 World Series run, is in Broward County's Main Jail, charged with DUI homicide after a Friday morning crash in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported on its Web site.

Leyritz was charged with two counts of drunken driving, including DUI that causes death to a human, the Herald reported, citing the jail's Web site.

[Guest KC]

Funny, when I saw this on ESPNEWS bottom bar I read Jim Leyland and said,
"aw fuck" because I admire him. Then when I realized it was Leyritz and said,
"ah, fuck him."

[metsmarathon]

jeez, its been a bad month for yankees...

[Guest OlerudOwned]

="KC"]Funny, when I saw this on ESPNEWS bottom bar I read Jim Leyland and said, "aw fuck" because I admire him. Then when I realized it was Leyritz and said, "ah, fuck him."

I did nearly the same exact thing.

Assumed he lived up north because he's always doing autograph sessions are a store a few towns over in Red Bank, but apparently not.

[DocTee]

Whether you admire Leyland or despise Leyritz, it's still tragic for the victim and his/her family at this holiday season.

Stepping down from soapbox....now.

[metirish]

Terrible all round.

] FORT LAUDERDALE - Jim Leyritz, the former Major League Baseball player known as "The King," was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter Friday morning following an accident that killed another driver, police said. Leyritz, 44, was traveling north-bound on Southwest Seventh Avenue when he passed a red light and crashed with another car around 3:30 a.m., said Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman Kathy Collins. The accident happened at the intersection of Southwest Second Street and Seventh Avenue. A 30-year-old woman traveling west-bound on Second Street was ejected from her car, Collins said. She was pronounced dead at Broward General Medical Center. Leyritz was charged with manslaughter and DUI property damage after an investigation, Collins said. Leyritz played with the New York Yankees in the '90s, earning his nickname after hitting a game-tying home run in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series (the Yankees would go on to win the game and the series).

[Guest KC]

No doubt, guys ... I've become pretty numb to bad news items these days and
was just focusing on my little insignificant unimportant reaction to it.

I'm a lot of things, but heartless isn't one of them.

[G-Fafif]

I prefer when MFY demi-icons hurt* themselves, not others.

*Figuratively speaking, as relates to image. No MFYs were harmed in the construction of this sentiment.

[metsmarathon]

am i the only one who didn't know leyritz' nickname was "the king"?

[Guest Edgy DC]

I liked his game, as I tend to like all catchers who play other positions. They're great to have on a roster. I found him to be, in retirement, a rather tiresome self-promoter.

[Frayed Knot]

metsmarathon wrote: am i the only one who didn't know leyritz' nickname was "the king"?

It was actually a bit of a derisive name coined by teammates to mock his high opinion of himself. Leyritz loved it (again, that high opinion thing) and turned the put-down around by adopting it as his own self-aggrandizing moniker.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, that kind of jives with my impression.

[MFS62]

DocTee wrote: Whether you admire Leyland or despise Leyritz, it's still tragic for the victim and his/her family at this holiday season. Stepping down from soapbox....now.

Exactly.
There is no excuse for DUI.

Later

[metirish]

I've often wondered what guys like Leyritz get paid for expert opinion, $5,250 a month working as an MLB.com analyst.

Anyway Leyritz blew millions over the years.

Blew It Big Time

[stevejrogers]

metirish wrote: I've often wondered what guys like Leyritz get paid for expert opinion, $5,250 a month working as an MLB.com analyst. Anyway Leyritz blew millions over the years. Blew It Big Time

He was also working with 1050 ESPN Radio. I haven't had a chance to listen but I wonder what the Yankee sycophants on there (Max Kellerman, Steven A. Smith, Michael Kay, Brandon Tierney) are saying in his defense over this.

[metsmarathon]

]In Florida, Leyritz blew through hundreds of dollars at liquor stores, including Fine Spirits in Cooper City. One day that August, he spent $256.23 there on alcohol. He returned two days later to buy an additional $169.53 worth of booze.

that's a whole lot of pabst blue ribbon!

seriously, though, i doubt that purchases such as those are where all his money went. also, this doesn't tell me whether he blew his load there on gallons and gallons of cheap swill, or a vastly smaller quantity of the much better stuff.

[seawolf17]

SteveJRogers wrote: ="metirish"]I've often wondered what guys like Leyritz get paid for expert opinion, $5,250 a month working as an MLB.com analyst. Anyway Leyritz blew millions over the years. Blew It Big Time He was also working with 1050 ESPN Radio. I haven't had a chance to listen but I wonder what the Yankee sycophants on there (Max Kellerman, Steven A. Smith, Michael Kay, Brandon Tierney) are saying in his defense over this.

I actually heard one of them while flipping the other day (it was Stephen A, I believe) who called it indefensible. Whether you're a Yankee face-sucker or not, the guy's a dickhead. Kinda like it was sad when Cory Lidle smacked his plane into a building, even if you hate the Yankees.

[metirish]

The amazing thing about Stephen A. Smith is that you don't even have to turn on the radio to hear him.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Steven A. Smith is a Yankee sycophant?

I thought he was a Philadelphia guy. I never see or hear him on TV or radio, but I do sometimes read his column in the Philadelphia Inquirer. I've never noticed anything Yankeeish about him.

[Frayed Knot]

He's a Philly writer (not sure where he's orig from) who became one of ESPN's stable of basketball guys.
From there he graduated to a regular slot on espn radio where he comments on all sports and has proclaimed his Yanqui love.

[Elster88]

SteveJRogers wrote: ="metirish"]I've often wondered what guys like Leyritz get paid for expert opinion, $5,250 a month working as an MLB.com analyst. Anyway Leyritz blew millions over the years. Blew It Big Time He was also working with 1050 ESPN Radio. I haven't had a chance to listen but I wonder what the Yankee sycophants on there (Max Kellerman, Steven A. Smith, Michael Kay, Brandon Tierney) are saying in his defense over this.

When you find out...for the love of God keep it to yourself.

[stevejrogers]

Frayed Knot wrote: He's a Philly writer (not sure where he's orig from) who became one of ESPN's stable of basketball guys. From there he graduated to a regular slot on espn radio where he comments on all sports and has proclaimed his Yanqui love.

He was born in the NYC area, not sure where though.

[Guest AG/DC]

I don't want to minimize Leyritiz's guilt, but it's the News piling on when they try and extend the case against him by citing two trips to the liquor store four and a half years ago, when he spent $256.23 and $169.53.

Did they really sandbag the grieving friends by asking what they thought of his purchases in 2004?

They describe the mourners as disgusted, but the only quote they could get was a friend of hers who also "often" drank with Leyritz. That's just weird.

[Elster88]

AG/DC wrote: I don't want to minimize Leyritiz's guilt, but it's the News piling on when they try and extend the case against him by citing two trips to the liquor store four and a half years ago, when he spent $256.23 and $169.53.

You beat me to it. That's one decent party and one below average party for a college kid.

[MFS62]

Elster88 wrote: ="AG/DC"]I don't want to minimize Leyritiz's guilt, but it's the News piling on when they try and extend the case against him by citing two trips to the liquor store four and a half years ago, when he spent $256.23 and $169.53. You beat me to it. That's one decent party and one below average party for a college kid.

Now I know why I had to keep sending money to my kids when they were in College. Thanks for clearing that up.

Later