JUPITER, Fla.—Florida Marlins pitching prospect Jeff Allison says he has been clean for 15 months in his struggle with substance abuse, and he realizes he is down to his last chance.
"This is it," said Allison, the Marlins' top draft pick in 2003. "It's time to grow up, and that's how they put it. It was plain and simple: `You're a grown man, if you want to play baseball, then do your thing.'"
Allison, 23, is serving three years' probation after pleading guilty to four felonies and four misdemeanors last October in Greensboro, N.C., including heroin possession and two counts of possessing a stolen vehicle.
The Marlins placed him on the restricted list last July. He reported for his first workout Thursday with the minor leaguers, wearing No. 93.
"Going in my locker and seeing my name on the uniform, they could have given me number 100 and I wouldn't have given a damn," Allison said. "To see my name on that jersey, to get out there and do what I was meant to do, it was a weird feeling, but it was a good feeling at the same time.
"I'm here, I've been sober for 15 months and it's a great feeling. There are a lot of people behind me."
Allison thanked Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, president Larry Beinfest, vice president Jim Fleming and team doctor Jeff Fishbein for giving him another chance.
"They saw something in me that I didn't see in myself for a long time," Allison said. "I finally found it myself. I feel a lot different than I did a few years ago. It's different now. I have almost two years under my belt now, being clean, and it's a great feeling."
Beinfest declined to comment through a Marlins spokesperson.
Allison was the 16th overall pick in 2003 out of high school in Peabody, Mass. He last pitched in 2005, when he was 5-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 17 starts for Double-A Greensboro. Since signing with the Marlins, he has missed three full seasons and pitched in 17 minor league games.
"I still have a long ways to go, but I have a lot more motivation now," Allison said. "I have something to prove to myself, and to everybody else, but to myself first and foremost. It's about staying healthy for me, taking it easy out here and working hard."
