I first met Matt Bush when he played for the Class A Stone Crabs here in Port Charlotte in 2010. He was quiet and soft-spoken, polite and funny, and sat up in the press box a lot that summer which made me think he must not be a very good pitcher.
But then he pitched, and wow. This kid -- media guide has him at 5-11, he's 5-9, tops -- routinely threw in the mid-90s almost effortlessly, and I knew I had to talk to him after the game.
Except I couldn't, and asking why led me to learn just who Matt Bush was.
How had I never heard about this guy? Apparently, I'm either the worst sports reporter ever or I have a huge National League deficiency because as soon as I googled his name, everything popped up. That was a lot of stuff to read through and I could hardly believe the stories and video I saw were talking about the game guy I shared the pressbox with from time to time.
When my roommate sent me a text with the latest news last night, I was beyond sad. Of course for the victim and his family -- he's a fighter, by the way, and it sounds like he's going to be OK -- but for Matt and his family. It's such a tragic thing to have happen on both sides, and I hated like hell to have to be the one to write the story. I spent about six hours trying to make it more than just an accident report, and had just gotten it about where I wanted it to be when my boss called and sent me in a different direction with the story.
So this one didn't make the paper, but since I like it so much better than the one that will be published tomorrow, I didn't want it to go to waste. Hope you enjoy the story no matter the subject... it was a tough one to write.
Already Been There
PORT CHARLOTTE — Slurred speech. Unsteady walk. Bloodshot eyes. A 0.18 blood alcohol level. They were all in Rays pitcher Matt Bush’s arrest report Thursday evening. Then, a quote most damning of all:
“Already been there.”
It was a phrase uttered by Bush when the arresting officer offered some advice to the 26-year-old as he was transported to Charlotte County jail under a handful of charges including DUI hit and run in front of Port Charlotte Town Center Mall. The officer suggested after Bush admitted to having a serious alcohol problem, that the seriousness of the current incident should be an awakening.
Bush replied that it wasn’t. “Already been there,” he added.
The victim, 72-year-old Anthony Tufano, was transported to Lee County Memorial Hospital with serious injuries after being struck by Bush’s SUV and then, according to eyewitnesses, run over by the same vehicle.
Bush said he never saw Tufano, nor did he remember striking him, but did admit to hitting a pole with the same SUV in Sarasota earlier in the day, and “buying a few” alcoholic beverages. After colliding with Tufano’s green Harley Davidson, the accused fled the scene and was apprehended a short time later in North Port under several charges ranging from misdemeanors to third-degree felonies. He is currently being held without bond.
“It’s a tough moment,” Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s a kid that’s in the process of making a great comeback in his life and he’s got this against him right now. He’s got great stuff as a baseball player, but this is a life situation, this is about him and his life and his livelihood, so it’s a tough one right now.
“We really thought there was going to be a time where he was going to impact us this season at some point. Mid-90s fastball, really good breaking ball, very good athlete, fields his position well. Everything was going really well for him and for us, and this thing happens last night and it’s beyond unfortunate for the victim.”
After so many second chances, Bush’s baseball career is likely finished. But, as he said Thursday, Bush has already been there.
The top overall pick in 2004 with a $3.15 million bonus and bright future, Bush came out of San Diego with a high-90s fastball to be envied. The Padres were his proud parents back then, and his potential was limitless.
But almost immediately came the drinking, and with it, the troubles. Bush was suspended for an Arizona nightclub fight before he ever took the field. For nearly five years afterward he avoided trouble, but the turmoil continued to rage inside. Alcohol was seriously affecting his game: Once a shortstop who hit .450 as a high school senior, Bush’s problem reduced him to hitting .192 in 2004, and .221 the year after.
After breaking his ankle and missing half of the 2006 season, San Diego converted Bush into a pitcher. But Bush needed Tommy John surgery after throwing just seven games, and missed all of 2008.
With the layoff came more drinking, and in February 2009 the Padres released Bush after an incident that led to him pleading guilty to four counts of simple battery. He was signed by Toronto the same week but released within two months after violating the zero tolerance policy in his contract.
“It got to the point where (alcohol) was kind of running my life,” he said in January 2011. “I couldn’t really do the things on the field that I had done before when I didn’t have such bad problems. It really got to me emotionally, physically, everything.”
Two months after his stint with the Blue Jays, Bush was videotaped in an altercation with police, and charged with drunken driving, resisting arrest and vandalism. He went home to his family and sobered up long enough to impress the Rays, who offered him a second lease on life. Bush had avoided trouble since then, quietly finding a home on the 40-man roster last season and striking out 77 hitters in 50 1⁄3 innings at Double-A Montgomery under pitching coach Neil Allen.
“This is a devastating incident to happen,” said Allen, who also worked with Bush at Class A Charlotte in 2010. “It’s just a stomach-turning event. What the Rays have put, the time and effort they have put into this young man to help him come along the proper line in life was outstanding. We were all so proud and happy what we saw… From where he’s been to where he’d come to is unbelieveable.
“As time went on, his sobriety and the things he was doing were fantastic. And I think he believed in us and we believed him. That’s why we’re all blindsided right now.”
Bush was excelling this spring. He pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings, all the while showing flashes of the greatness he once possessed. But the demons that had claimed him before soon had their hold again.
Having “already been there” didn't make it any easier to control this time, either.
Something that once possessed him is back, and there is one man in a hospital bed and another in a jail cell because of it. Tufano remains in serious condition but daughter-in-law Shannon Moore said the family expects that he will survive the injuries sustained when eyewitness John Sugden Jr. said Bush, “literally… ran over the driver’s head.”
“Thanks to Willow, he was wearing a helmet,” Moore said, of her 14-year-old daughter. “About two years ago, he wasn’t wearing a helmet, and Willow said, ‘Look, if you don’t wear a helmet, I’m not talking to you.’ He was like, ‘It’s Florida, it’s really hot, I’m a really good driver, I’ve been riding motorcycles for a long time, I’m fine.’ She was like, ‘No, I want you to wear a full-face helmet or I’m not talking to you.’
“So he agreed to wear the helmet and thank goodness he was wearing it.”
The Rays have so far remained mum on the incident, releasing only this statement:
“The Tampa Bay Rays organization is deeply saddened by today’s tragic news. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and his family. We will reserve further comment until we learn more about the incident that took place.”
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