Matt Bush is a name baseball fans haven't heard in years. He was drafted in 2004, and was considered one of the best five tool players to ever come straight out of high school. His .450 high school batting average, along with a 95 MPH fastball on the mound, made him one of the best players in the draft. When the San Diego Padres selected him as their first overall in the 2004 draft, he became the first shortstop drafted number 1 overall since Alex Rodriguez in the 1993 draft.
Bush had a problem with alcoholism before he even put on a professional uniform. He was involved in a fight at an Arizona bar, and received a suspension. After that, Bush had several mediocre seasons with the Padres at shortstop. He complied a .219 average in four minor league seasons before being converted to a pitcher by the end of the 2007 season. After becoming a pitcher, he appeared in one game before a torn ligament; eventually, a 'Tommy John' surgery sidelined him for the 2008 season. 2009 was also not a good year for Bush. He was dropped from the San Diego Padres roster. He was quickly designated for assignment after reports came out about an alleged fight with high school lacrosse players in a parking lot. After that, Bush was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where he spent a month with the team before being released for throwing a baseball at a woman's head after she drew on him at a party. After his stint with the Blue Jays, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he spent parts of two seasons in their minor league system. After a couple of decent injury plagued seasons, Bush was slated to start the season with AAA Durham Bulls.
On the night of March 22, 2012 everything changed. It was spring training for the Rays in Port Charlotte, Florida. He was leaving practice, and everything went wrong. In a matter of hours he was involved in three crashes. The first two were minor crashes, but the third was much worse.
When driving along Route 41, Bush hit a 72-year-old motorcyclist, running over the man's head. The gentleman survived, but was in critical condition. Later, Bush was arrested with a blood alcohol level of .18 - more than twice the legal limit. Bush spent the next two and a half years in prison, barley touching a baseball. He played right field on the prison softball team, keeping up his arm strength. When he was picking up trash on the side of the road with other inmates, he came across a baseball. He threw it a couple of times; it felt good. Within the next month he was released from prison, into a halfway house in Jacksonville. He got a job at Golden Corral. His dad sent him a couple of gloves and some balls, and he worked out an agreement with his boss so that he could throw in the restaurant's parking lot. Roy Silver, former adviser for the Texas Rangers, visited Bush at the restaurant. Bush had lived at Silver's baseball academy a few years back, and knew him well. He wanted to know where Bush was before ever knowing if he can still throw a ball. A few weeks later, Silver saw Bush throw a ball. He was impressed by what he saw, and called in other local scouts to watch him as well. The first two reads on the radar gun came up as 93 and 95 MPH. After careful consideration, Jon Daniels and his team decided to give the former number one pick another chance. The new contract for Bush had many conditions in it: He couldn't drive, drink, or live on his own. If he broke any of these rules, he would be released immediately.
Bush reported to spring training in Surprise, AZ and exceeded everyone's expectations. In his first game in over three years, Bush threw 98 MPH in an impressive inning of work. Over the entirety of spring training, he threw three innings, only giving up one hit and striking out three. This impressive spring led to him starting the season with AA Frisco. If he keeps up the work, he could find himself reaching the majors at some point this year.
Bush's story is one of the greatest comebacks in baseball. Less than a year ago, he was in prison having to do nothing with baseball. Now he has a chance to make an impact for a major league team. The baseball world is wishing him the very best - on and off the field.
