Former World Series MVP John Wetteland accused of sexually assaulting 4-year-old
John Wetteland, a former World Series MVP and member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, was arrested by police on Monday on a charge of child sex abuse.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Wetteland allegedly abused a 4-year-old relative beginning in 2004. Authorities in Bartonville, Texas, believe the abuse continued twice more in the following years, according to an affidavit. Here are more details from the Morning News:
Wetteland, 52, is accused of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, according to Denton County jail records. The Trophy Club resident posted $25,000 bond and was released from custody the same day as his arrest.
He had forced a young relative to perform a sex act on him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit, beginning in 2004 when the child was just four years old.
The abuse occurred at Wetteland’s home in Bartonville, the affidavit stated. It happened twice more over a two-year period, the victim said.
Wetteland pitched in the majors from 1989 to 2000, moving from starter to closer in 1990 and finding success with the Montreal Expos, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. He was named the World Series MVP in 1996 with the Yankees, but the team allowed him to become a free agent weeks later due to the emergence of Mariano Rivera. He signed with the Rangers and spent four seasons in Arlington, retiring at 33 after becoming the team’s all-time saves leader with 150 — a record he still holds.
He moved to coaching after that, when he was hired as pitching coach by the Washington Nationals in 2006 and fired after six months. He was the pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners in 2009 and 2010, but that stint wasn’t without incident. In November of 2009, Wetteland was hospitalized after police were called to his home to respond to a possible suicide threat. The incident was blamed on elevated blood pressure and heart rate issues in a statement released by Wetteland and the Mariners.
Wetteland is reportedly a born-again Christian who has taught Bible studies and coached baseball at a nearby Christian school in Argyle, Texas. The Dallas Morning News reported that Wetteland no longer has any connection to it.
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