Blue Jays’ former star Kelly Gruber arrested for drunk driving

Former Blue Jay star third baseman Kelly Gruber was arrested in Houston under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a report from the Toronto Sun from earlier today, former Blue Jays’ third baseman Kelly Gruber was arrested for drunk driving in Austin, Texas over the weekend. The report was originally made by Katie Hall of the Austin American-Statesman, who outlined the details of what apparently went down.

Around 2:20am, it sounds like Gruber was behind the wheel and drew the attention of the police when he had his signal light on for an extended period without making a turn, and was also driving over the speed limit, allegedly doing 83 in a 65 zone at one point according to Hall’s article.

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In the spot from the Sun, they said that a witness spotted him doing 132 km per hour in a 100 zone (maybe they neatly translated it for us from miles per hour?), so obviously Gruber was drawing attention to himself.

The articles goes on to detail that he apparently admitted that he had been drinking but wouldn’t take a breathalyzer test, so that’s generally not a great sign. After being arrested he was released later that day on a $3,000 bail from the Travis County Jail.

Gruber played with the Blue Jays on their 1992 championship team, manning third base and hitting 31 home runs and 118 RBI in his best year in 1990. He also earned All-Star appearances in 1989 and 1990, and finished 4th in MVP voting in the American League during that big season.

In all he played for the Blue Jays from 1984-1992, also playing with the California Angels in 1993. Injuries got the best of him at just 31 years old by then, and despite toying with a comeback with the Baltimore Orioles in 1997, he never played another MLB game after 1993. On a team that included the likes of Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Dave Winfield, and more, Gruber’s talent was a bit overshadowed by the time his time was done in Toronto, to be sure.

"“Gruber admitted to drinking alcohol before driving, the affidavit says. He refused to breathe into a breathalyzer, take a field sobriety test or have his blood drawn, the affidavit says.” – Austin American-Statesman"

These days Gruber has been doing some work in motivational speaking and other baseball related seminars and appearances, returning to Canada for a few events that I’ve even personally attended. He also continues to endorse products in his post-playing career including Vertichem, an “innovative green-tech company and one of the world’s leading practitioners of green chemistry” and El Mocambo, a tavern in Toronto, Ontario.

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Hopefully this won’t be a major court proceeding for the 56 year old and former Blue Jay, and thankfully no one was hurt.