Pitcher Who Set An Olympic Strikeout Record Arrested For Cooking Meth Near An Alabama Grammar School

Here's a short version of Billy Lyle "BJ" Wallace Jr.'s life: Such a good baseball player as a youth that he made the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, notched a record 14 strikeouts in a game vs. Italy, was the the third pick in the MLB draft, signed a $550,00 contract with the Expos and knocked around the minors but never made the bigs.

Along the way, he had three children who were 2, 8 and 12 today, when they were turned over to their grandparents. Seems as if Wallace took a shine to cooking meth in the house he shared with his bride and family. The meth homestead was a couple hundred yards away from an elementary school.

Officers found four "shake and bake" meth labs inside, along with two ounces of "finished product," according to Loxley police Lt. Doug Phillips. ... Phillips declined to say whether the children were present when officers made the arrests.

Authorities had become concerned for the safety of the children, Phillips said.

He described the "shake and bake" lab as a 20-ounce or two-liter plastic bottle with meth ingredients inside.

"It can turn into an incredible explosive," Phillips said. "Even if it didn't explode, if one of the kids drank it, thinking it was a soda bottle, who knows what could happen?"

Oh, quite a few people know.

Former Olympic baseball player charged with making meth near Loxley school [Press-Register] (H/T David F.) ( Photo H/T Bad Wax)