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Nationals' Jayson Werth convicted of reckless driving, sentenced to ten days in jail

Washington Nationals' outfielder Jayson Werth was convicted of reckless driving on Friday and sentenced to ten days in jail. The 35-year-old right fielder was pulled over in July for allegedly driving 105 mph in a 55 mph zone on the Capital Beltway.

By Patrick Reddington
H.Darr Beiser-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest story by far in NatsTown on Friday, sorry Deric Ladnier to the D-Backs, concerned the off-field activities and legal troubles of 35-year-old Washington Nationals' right fielder Jayson Werth.

As The Washington Post's Justin Jouvenal and James Wagner, among others, reported, Fairfax County General District Court Chief Judge Penney Azcarate found the Nats' outfielder "guilty of misdemeanor reckless driving" in a July 6th incident in which he was pulled over by a Virginia State Police trooper for allegedly driving 105 mph on a section of the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County, VA where the speed limit is 55 mph.

News of Werth being pulled over and charged with reckless driving first surfaced in early August with the Nationals blog Nats Enquirer and others writing about the incident.

The Nationals released a public statement via email at the time which said they were aware of the situation:

"The Washington Nationals have been in communication with right fielder Jayson Werth regarding this situation for multiple weeks. Jayson is cooperating with the authorities. As it is an ongoing legal matter, the team has no further comment."

After Werth was found guilty this afternoon, Nats' GM Mike Rizzo released a brief statement to reporters, including the Washington Post's Mr.'s Jouvenal and Wagner:

"We are aware of the judge’s ruling today," wrote Mike Rizzo, the general manager and president of baseball operations. "Jayson has cooperated fully with authorities throughout this process."

NBCWashington.com's Julie Carey provided more detail on the ruling in a report on Werth's court appearance:

"He was sentenced Friday to serve 10 days in jail, with another 170 days suspended... Werth's driver's license also was suspended for six months, and he was fined $1,000."

Carey, "NBC4's Northern Virginia Bureau chief covering politics, government & all that is NoVA," as her Twitter bio reads, goes on to suggest that, "Werth will likely serve five days of his sentence, though his attorney has already appealed. Werth won't have to serve jail time during the appeal process."

Is this... news worth discussing on a baseball site? Nobody's business but Werth's and the state of Virginia's?

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