By Kristie Ackert
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Former New York Yankees closer John Wetteland was arrested Monday on charges of sexual abuse of a child, according to records at the Denton County, Texas, jail. The 52-year-old was released on $25,000 bail the same day, according to records.
Wetteland was charged with “sex abuse of child continuous victim under 14,” according to the jail records.
Under the Texas penal code, that means that during a period that is 30 or more days in duration, the person commits two or more acts of sexual abuse, regardless of whether the acts of sexual abuse are committed against one or more victims; ?and at the time of the commission of each of the acts of sexual abuse, the actor is 17 years of age or older and the victim is a child younger than 14 years of age, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the victim at the time of the offense.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Wetteland had been a baseball coach and Bible studies teacher at a Texas Christian school, Liberty Christian School, but is no longer associated with the school. A message left at the school was not returned.
Wetteland, who saved 43 games in 1996 before being replaced by future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, spent two years in pinstripes and was named World Series MVP during the 1996 season. He saved 74 games in 1995-96. He went on to save 150 games for the Texas Rangers, where he retired the team’s all-time saves leader in 2000. In a 12-year major league career, Wetteland saved 330 games among the Dodgers, Expos, Yankees and Rangers.
He remained in baseball as the bullpen coach for the Nationals and Mariners. In 2006, Washington fired Wetteland after manager Frank Robinson complained that Wetteland’s staff was too focused on practical jokes and not ready for the games.
In 2009, while in Seattle, Wetteland was hospitalized for what was believed to be a “mental health issue,” and related to a suicide threat. Wetteland and the Mariners later released a statement correcting that to an elevated blood pressure issue.
