D-Backs Bounce Wally Backman

NOVEMBER 5--Just when we thought nobody could do a worse job handling background checks than reality TV producers, along comes the Arizona Diamondbacks. The baseball club today fired manager Wally Backman--four days after hiring him--after press reports revealed that Backman had been arrested twice and filed for bankruptcy last year. Diamondbacks brass admitted that they did not conduct background checks on Backman nor did they ask him about possible criminal or financial problems in his recent past. Along with a 2000 drunk driving bust (for which he pleaded guilty), Backman was indicted in October 2001 for assaulting his wife and one of her friends during a dispute in the family's Oregon home. In December 2002, Backman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment count and was directed to attend anger control classes, pay a $1000 fine, and ordered not to drink to excess (specifically beyond the state's .08 limit). Backman is pictured below in a mug shot snapped by the Crook County Sheriff's Office, whose deputies popped him for the domestic abuse rap. (4 pages)