with teammates and management in San Diego, the Oakland Athletics had taken risks on troubled players before. They signed Show as a free agent prior to the 1991 season. Show also played in 1990–91 with the Mayaguez Indians of the Puerto Rican Winter League. Show's episodes of erratic behavior began to involve law enforcement by 1991. He was arrested by the police in downtown San Diego while yelling that someone was trying to kill him. Placed inside a police car, he kicked out the window and fled on foot. He was apprehended later that day, and he admitted to having used crystal methamphetamine. Show showed up later that year at the Oakland A's training camp with bandaged hands; reports had been made of his acting oddly inside an adult bookstore, and Show tried to flee from police, cutting his hands on a barbed wire fence. Oakland released Show during spring training in 1992, and he never appeared in professional baseball again. Personal life Within baseball, Show's intellectual interests set him apart. Flannery said that most baseball players were singularly focused on baseball, while Show enjoyed discussing subjects like politics and economics. The pitcher was also a born-again Christian and a jazz musician who was known to play guitar with the hotel lounge bands during team road trips. He was involved in real estate and marketing, and also owned a music store. In 1984, Show revealed that he was a member of the John Birch Society. In response to questions about his membership, he stated his "fundamental philosophy of less government, more reason, and with God's help, a better world. And that's it." When people asked whether Show's membership in the far-right organization indicated that he was racist, teammate Tony Gwynn defended Show against such charges. Show's agent, Arn Tellem, said that his membership in the group was part of his search for answers about how the world worked. After Show gave up Rose's record-breaking hit, Graig Nettles wisecracked, "The Birch Society is going to expel Eric for making a Red famous." Show was married to Cara Mia Niederhouse, who he had met while playing in a summer college baseball league in Kansas. They had no children. Death After his retirement from baseball, Show continued to struggle with drug abuse. After a month-long stay at a drug rehabilitation center in Dulzura, California, Show checked out of the facility on March 14,