Via the Post -

Joba Chamberlain had issued a statement – through his agent – after being arrested for drunk driving last month, issuing an apology and saying his plan was for it to be a one-time mistake.

But Chamberlain had yet to speak publicly about the arrest. Yesterday he did, reiterating much of what was in the statement – but saying it himself. Chamberlain insisted he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice, apologized to kids and fans, and admitted he knows there is more to life than baseball.

“You’ve always got to take a negative and turn it into a positive and teach kids and understand that it’s not right,” Chamberlain told The Post following an autograph signing at Last Licks in Rye. “And coming from somebody that’s experienced it, there’s a little more legitimacy behind it. But you never want to -– once is enough. That’s not going to happen again.

“And I apologize not only to the kids, but to the fans that spend their money to come out and to do the things that they do for us and for myself. And as somebody that’s in the spotlight, you’ve got to understand that there’s more important things to life than baseball and you realize that.”

“The support and everything that’s gone along with it has been great,” he said. “And we’re a family and everybody understands that. You have to learn from it and never let it happen again.”

In the past, guys like Keith Hernandez, Paul Molitor and Tim Raines found themselves in trouble – and they were able to move past that and pretty much bury it. Let’s hope that Chamberlain can do the same.