Drug-smuggling charges for ex-A’s starter
Esteban Loaiza, a starting pitcher for the A’s 2006 ALCS team, was arrested Friday on suspicion of smuggling cocaine and heroin.
According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, Loaiza was booked into jail and is being held on felony charges of suspected possession of heroin and cocaine over 20 kilograms (44 pounds), possession of narcotics for sale, and possession and transportation of narcotics for sale.
San Diego Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Vickery told the Associated Press that the packages are still being tested. Loaiza is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
Loaiza’s agent, John Boggs, told The Chronicle that he had no information about the arrest and that he has not spoken to Loaiza recently. He said that Loaiza had called his office early last week but Boggs was unavailable and Loaiza did not call back.
“I am shocked and saddened by the news and had no indication he would ever be in this type of situation,” Boggs said via text. “I don’t know how he would get himself involved in this, so it’s difficult to even comment on it.”
Loaiza, 46, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2006 while with the A’s; according to police reports, at 2:40 a.m. June 15, he was going more than 100 mph in his yellow Ferrari on 580 near San Leandro. He apologized to the team, the fans and the league and started the next day in an A’s victory over Seattle.
In the wake of Loaiza’s DUI, the A’s became the first major-league team to stop providing beer in the home and visiting clubhouses; many other teams followed suit in subsequent years.
After signing a three-year, $21.4 million contract with Oakland in 2006, Loaiza went 12-9 in 28 starts over an injury-marred season and a half; the Dodgers claimed him the following August.
Loaiza’s most important start for the A’s came in Game 3 of a Division Series in 2006, when he allowed eight hits and two runs in Oakland’s 5-2 victory over the Twins. In Game 2 of the ALCS, he allowed nine hits and seven runs in the A’s 8-5 loss to the Tigers.
Along with the A’s and Dodgers, Loaiza pitched for the Pirates, Rangers, Blue Jays, White Sox, Yankees and Nationals.
Loaiza was born in Tijuana and attended high school in Imperial Beach, near San Diego. He was briefly married to singer Jenni Rivera, who died in a plane crash in 2012.