Alcohol in the Clubhouse

I don't know if I am the only one, but I had no idea that in most of Major League Baseball clubhouses alcohol was available and consumed by players, managers, and others involved in a particular organization, most likely after games. This seems insane to me because I don't believe any other business would provide alocohol to their employees before they went and drove home for the evening. Furthermore, these 'employees,' in the case of the MLB, are worth millions and millions of dollars. So, why would you as an organization want to put these investments at risk?

This issue has came to the forefront in light of the recent tragic news of St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Josh Hancock, who lost his life in a late night car accident. According to The St. Louis Police, Hancock, who was twice the Missouri blood/alcohol legal limit, also had 8.55 grams of marijauna in his pocession at the time of the accident. Its very sad that a tragic accident of this magnitude had to occur before MLB organizations get the wake-up call and realize the faults in their policies.

I realize that most players probably don't drink alcohol that is available in the clubhouse before they drive home and that in some clubhouses alcohol is not even allowed. Its quite unfortunate when exceptions to the norm such as Josh Hancock's case, have to effect policy, but in this situation it just might be very significant.