Looking for a second-half spark in 2005, the Twins took a flier on Bret Boone by acquiring him from Seattle at the All-Star break. He wound up getting just 53 at bats with the Twins and collecting nine hits before Minnesota dumped him. The Twins faded, finishing 83-79.
In a new book titled, "Home Game: Big League Stories from My Life in Baseball's First Family," set to go on sale May 10, Boone reveals he was a "substance abuser" whose alcohol problem grew worse during that period.
"I needed a drink. So I had one, and then another. I'd polish off a six-pack of beer and reach for another six-pack. Eventually I made the mistake of switching from beer to clear — from the slow, easy buzz of Bud Light or Miller Lite to the sharper edge of Absolut and Ketel One, a bottle at a time," Boone writes. "Nobody knew how much I was drinking. To the baseball men I loved and trusted, it seemed like the usual late-career crisis."
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
