Should the MLB Ban Alcohol in the Clubhouse?

Drinking on the job is never a good idea. Unless it's a social gathering or company party at the workplace. Then, there are exceptions if the alcohol intake is limited. However, if an athlete drinks during a game, there is never a good excuse for that -- ever. Major League Baseball executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torres is now looking into that, courtesy of the Boston Red Sox.

Both Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester admitted they consumed alcohol in the Red Sox clubhouse throughout the season, during games. Josh Beckett and John Lackey have also been linked to drinking in the clubhouse. According to The Boston Globe, 13 baseball teams allow alcohol in the clubhouse. When Torre and the MLB finish their investigation, the number could be zero.

It is interesting to wonder if this would have been a controversy had the Red Sox not collapsed and won the AL Wild Card to make the playoffs. Long-time manager Terry Francona was reportedly forced out, despite bringing the franchise two World Series Title -- one of which was their first since 1918 back in 2004. General Manager Theo Epstein has also left, presumably for greener pastures to take an executive position with the Chicago Cubs.

“If we do happen to bar alcohol from the clubhouses, you have to understand the intent of this thing and what it looks like,” Torre told the Boston Globe. “We’re up there and we’re role models, or we should be role models for the youngsters and how they behave. Guys understand that if they want to do something, they’re going to do something. They’re grown-ups. It’s something where we implement rules that we feel would be best for the game and who we’re being watched by. We’ve got to look at it."