Willie Banks guzzled the final drops of tequila, tossing the empty bottle aside.
Once again he was drunk and alone.
A lifetime before, Banks had been the highest New Jersey player ever chosen in the Major League Baseball draft, selected No. 3 overall by the Twins in 1987, two slots behind Ken Griffey Jr. He made nearly $1.5 million over nine Big League seasons, which included a memorable September run with the Yankees in 1997.
But now he was broke and squatting in a house he no longer owned, the lights, heat and hot water shut off.