Youth & Stardom: Valid Causes For Serious Mistakes?

At what point do we begin to realize we have made a big mistake?  Is it while the mistake is happening?  Is it when we get caught?  Or is it years later, when the mistake has become part of one large chunk of regret?  And when do we realize not to make that kind of mistake anymore?  When are we no longer pawns of youth, no longer able to blame our own naivete for the poor decisions and actions we make?

Two recent mistakes by members of the New York Yankees spurred this line of thought.  The first, and most serious mistake, was Joba Chamberlain's DUI arrest in Nebraska last autumn.  It was October 19th.  There was an open bottle of Crown Royal on the front seat with Joba when a state trooper pulled him over.  The trooper smelled alcohol on his breath and gave him a Breathalyzer test, which Chamberlain failed.  Video of the arrest can be seen HERE.  Chamberlain pled guilty on April 2 and was sentenced to 9 months probation.  He also lost his license for 60 days.

Joba Chamberlain is a young man, still on 23 years old.  On the cusp of a huge career in baseball, he very well could have blown it all that night.  He was speeding, driving drunk and could have killed someone, like the situation with former Yankee Jim Leyritz.  He could have killed himself.  He was lucky.  So were the other drivers on that Nebraska highway.

Is there blame here?  Can we blame Chamberlain's youth?  Can we say, "Oh, he's a young guy.  He's just sowing some oats."  No.  That's not an excuse at all.  Every high school in America teaches the perils of driving under the influence.  He knew better.  Do we blame his stardom?  Could it be Chamberlain was metaphorically drunk on his status as the Next Big Thing in Yankees history?  We can't crawl into his head and see.  He might not even know the answer. 

Do we blame the culture of sports?  Think of all of the DUIs in baseball over the recent past: Tony LaRussa, Josh Hancock (LaRussa's player who died while driving drunk, the same spring LaRussa was caught), Rafael Furcal, Bernard Gilkey, Gene Michael, Steve Swindall (the one-time heir to the Yankees kingdom who lost it all after his DUI arrest).  This is just a handful. 

Bitter Yankees fans can blame the team's inability to make the playoffs last season.  This isn't to sound glib.  But if the team had performed to expectations, reached the post-season and gone deep, Chamberlain never would have been free that evening to drink and drive.  He would have been in New York or some other city playing baseball.  In effect, do we blame Joe Girardi for not managing well enough?  Do we blame injuries for ruining the Yankees post-season aspirations, causing Joba Chamberlain to have a free night in October?  No, you can't blame fate for free will.

So maybe it's the combination of youth and stardom that led to Chamberlain's screw up; "screw up" being a term which doesn't sound as serious as this event truly was.  One can only hope he learned from this mistake and that others who know him, from friends to teammates to fans, can recognize when a mistake like this is in progress and stop it before it gets too late.

The other big Yankee player mistake actually took place 6 years ago, but was of course only admitted to recently.  It is the Alex Rodriguez steroids revelation.  He took them.  Do you recall where he placed the blame?  On his youth.

Now, could this be true?  Of course.  Admitting to the truth may sound silly in hindsight and open one up to further criticism, but youth can certainly be a cause for why A-Rod took steroids between 2001 and 2003.  But for A-Rod to believe youth is the sole reason for his using performance enhancers would be another mistake.  Stardom was heavily involved in his decision.  To his credit, he admitted to this as well.  After signing the largest contract in sports history, Rodriguez felt he had to live up to it.  He took steroids to help. 

The problem with Rodriguez is he makes so many mistakes, especially public ones.  His fame gives him opportunities mainstream citizens don't get, from access to Madonna to sitting across from Katie Couric on 60 Minutes.  Can he blame youth for every mistake he made?  At what point does he learn to simply stop making so many mistakes?

Two big stars of your 2009 New York Yankees: Joba Chamberlain and Alex Rodriguez.  Each has made two very different, yet significant mistakes.  While being young is a convenient crutch to blame, the existence, and sometimes pressures of stardom can also be factored in.  But neither youth nor stardom can overrule the one characteristic all players in Major League Baseball should have, a trait that can save their careers, their lives and their souls: Common Sense.