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Furcal charged with DUI
Posted: Saturday June 10, 2000 10:58 PM
ATLANTA (AP) -- Less than a week after sending closer John Rocker to the minors, the Atlanta Braves had to deal with another problem Saturday: Rookie shortstop Rafael Furcal was charged with drunken driving and underage alcohol consumption. Police in suburban Cobb County said Furcal, 19 and the youngest player in the majors, was arrested early Saturday morning after failing a sobriety test in the parking lot of a Kroger grocery store. Cobb police spokesman Dana Pierce said Furcal's car swerved into a median about 5 a.m. EDT, springing an oil leak. Kroger employees called police to report a suspicious person in the parking lot, and officers found Furcal there. "He looked like he had been drinking," Pierce said. "He had all the signs of being intoxicated." Furcal paid a $400 bond in cash and was released from Cobb County Jail about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. Georgia law mandates an automatic six-month license suspension for underage drinkers convicted of DUI. The Braves said they would not decide on possible disciplinary action against Furcal until his case was resolved by authorities. No court date has been set. Furcal was not in the starting lineup for Saturday night's game at home against the Boston Red Sox. But he entered the game in the fourth inning after Walt Weiss injured his right thumb. Furcal went 0-for-1 with a run scored as Atlanta won 6-0. He is hitting .306 with 12 stolen bases. General manager John Schuerholz met with Furcal before the game. First baseman Andres Galarraga, a leader of the team's large Latin contingent, also took part to ensure the shortstop understood what was being said. Furcal, a native of the Dominican Republic, has limited knowledge of English. "Raffy apologized," Schuerholz said. "He's very sincere when he says it will not happen again. I'm satisfied with that response. He realizes he made a mistake, he admits to it and he's sorry for it." Furcal declined comment, but Galarraga played down the incident. "It's not really a big deal," the first baseman said. "He had a problem with his car and police made a big deal about that." Furcal is one of baseball's most exciting young players. After playing in Class-A a year ago, the teen-ager made the major league roster with an impressive spring. He was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a stolen base in Atlanta's 6-4 victory over the Red Sox on Friday. "There's no doubt he's a great kid. He seems like he feels bad about it," Galarraga said. "We told him to forget about it. Forget what everybody is saying. Just play the game. We need him. We need him to keep impressing everybody like he's been doing." The Braves, normally one of baseball's most trouble-free teams, have faced a couple of off-field incidents in the past week. Last Sunday, Rocker was accused of threatening the Sports Illustrated reporter who revealed the pitcher's bigoted comments about gays, minorities and foreigners. Rocker was fined $5,000 and sent to the minors the following day. Furcal was returning from taking a friend home when he struck the median, said his agent, Paul Kinzer. Kinzer pointed out that Furcal's native Dominican Republic is a "different culture" where "a 15-year-old might drink a beer or two." Police said a breath test showed Furcal's blood-alcohol level at .11 percent. Under Georgia law, underage drivers are considered legally drunk if their level is .02 percent; the standard is .08 for drivers who are 21 and older. "Essentially, he needs to understand the responsibility he had to make good decisions, and not only as a player with an exciting future," Schuerholz said. "He also has to make good decisions off the field."
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