Matt Keough Sentenced for Probation Violation

From: North County Times wire services -

NEWPORT BEACH -- Former major league pitcher Matt Keough was sentenced today to 180 days in jail after admitting he violated probation by drinking wine at a hotel.

Keough, 52, who had been scheduled for arraignment on Monday, entered his plea at the Harbor Justice Center before Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Borris, according to TMZ.com.

With good time credits, Keough could serve about 110 days.

Defense attorney Joseph McGinley could not be reached for immediate comment. He said earlier he was working on behalf of his client to get him the treatment that he needs.



Keough was taken into custody Dec. 18 at a bar at the Newport Beach Marriott at 900 Newport Center Drive after police officers were called to make a welfare check on the former major-leaguer, who appeared to be drunk, said Newport Beach police Sgt. Evan Sailor.

Susan Schroeder of the Orange County District Attorney's Office said Keough, in October, violated terms of his three-year probation stemming from a 2005 drunken driving conviction. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, she said.

Keough served his sentence at the Newport Beach City Jail, where he was a "trustee," Sailor said.

Officers who went to the hotel recognized him and knew he was prohibited from drinking alcohol, Sailor said.

His probation stems from an accident on April 4, 2005, when, while drunk, he rear-ended a vehicle while on his way to his home in Coto de Caza. The vehicle he hit rolled into a someone who was walking his bike across the street and suffered a knee injury.

Keough pitched in the majors from 1977-1986 with four teams. He also pitched in Japan from 1987-90 and unsuccessfully attempted comebacks with the then-California Angels in both 1991 and 1992.

Keough subsequently was a special assistant to the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, but he is no longer with the team.

The unscripted series, "Real Housewives of Orange County," which airs on cable's Bravo network, features Keough's wife, Jeana, a former Playboy model, and their two children.