David Clyde, 1970s Baseball Phenom, Arrested for DWI

There’s a law against Debuting While Inexperienced? Who knew.

David Eugene Clyde, one of baseball’s great “What if?” stories, was arrested for DWI this weekend in Harris County.

Less than three weeks later, the teenage Clyde took the mound against the Minnesota Twins. Pitching in front of the Rangers’ largest crowd of the year, Clyde got the win after five one-hit innings.

It was pretty much all downhill from there. Like a lot of young lefties before and since, Clyde had control problems. Clyde also reportedly partied too hard with some of the veterans, seasoned drinkers like Clyde Wright, Dick Billings, and Jim Fregosi. One day, Wright reportedly almost missed a team flight after he straggled hungover to the gate, still wearing yesterday’s clothes.

“I thought nothing of having a few drinks after the game—that was the way things went,” Clyde told the Houston Chronicle in 1993. “But I really wasn’t an alcoholic. Yeah, I did party a little too much at times, I’ll admit to that. But I thought it was just the major-league lifestyle.”

...On Saturday, Harris County Sheriffs arrested Clyde for DWI. It is his first offense. He is currently free on a $500 bond.