Hideki Irabu was stopped for suspicion of driving under the influence in Southern California on May 17. The retired major league baseball pitcher reportedly was drifting outside of marked traffic lanes and nearly hit a parked car. Gardena police say that they will wait for the results of a blood test before deciding whether to charge Irabu with DUI in California.
Irabu was booked around 2:00 in the morning and released the next morning after posting $5000 bail. If charged, it will be a first offense misdemeanor DUI.
Irabu lives in nearby Rancho Palos Verdes. He had an excellent record as a pitcher in the Japanese baseball league, though his success in the states was mixed. He played for the New York Yankees, Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers between 1997 and 2002. He then returned to Japan and played until suffering a knee injury. Upon retiring from the sport, Irabu, 41, moved to southern California.
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