Scott Spiezio: Too Hip for His Own Good
I have this theory about athletes:
If they are unusually colorful, quotable and interesting ... that's not going to be good for the guy, long term.
It's almost always the quirky guys who end up with a drinking problem or a drug problem ... or whatever it is.
It might be the substances that make the guy interesting.
Or maybe interesting guys are more inclined to dabble with drugs.
Scott Spiezio, World Series hero for the 2002 Angels, certainly fit the description. Deliciously random guy, part of a rock band, a guy likely to dye his hair some weird color and say something off the wall. Never dull ...
Who does that remind you of?
Guys like Dennis Rodman, Ron Artest, Randy Moss, Lyle Alzado, Todd Marinovich (just about any of the Raiders from the 1970s and 1980s, actually) ...
If you're TOO interesting ... there's going to be some hell to pay eventually.
Here's the news story on Spiezio's issues, which could end his career.
He was great fun, as an Angel. Thus, we could have seen something like this coming.
I can think of another guy or two like this, fascinating, live wires who haven't gotten in trouble yet ... but I won't defame them before they get nailed for something. Maybe they will escape the curse.