So, Dodgers/Mets........Seminfinal playoff game.........Shook goes yard for the 2nd time in the game...........reasonable home plate celebration...............all normal regular baseball stuff!!!
But wait, the opposing pitcher is standing behind the mound, apparently agitated with the Dodgers break dancing as they (we) waiting to show Shookie some baseball love. The next thing I saw/heard was an obvious stare down from the Mets pitcher directed at the Dodgers team and then, there it was, "The next guy better look out, 'cause I'm going to hit him in his head".
Ya know, guys get bent when their fastball get turned around. I get it - been there myself. The guy said what he said, whatever. I threw temper tantrums too............when I was 7. And the Dodgers reacted as one might expect - not real happy!
BUT the thing that bothered me more than anything..............the umpires did about NOTHING to douse the escalating situation. "He can say whatever he wants" is all the umipre said. WRONG! Wrong answer, Mr. Umpire!! That was not the time to see if this cat was actually going to follow through with his threat. He should have gotten tossed. I for one was not so sure this guy wasn't going to plunk one of my teammates.
Is there a league rule regarding this kind of thing? I ask this because if the guy was allowed to throw the next pitch and my buddy Mike Bintz or Jimmy Keegan got beaned with a decent fastball and got hurt..........well, I hate to say it but #1 senseless because there was ample verbal warning that could have been prevented and #2 I hate to say this even more..........there is a real good possibility of legal and criminal consequences FOR THE ENTIRE LEAGUE!
steve - i agree with you: celebrations are and should be part of the game - the game's fun; guys should celebrate after someone hits a dinger or makes a great play.
but threats and behavior that can hurt people are not part of the game, and never should be. we all have good reasons to stay upright after games, including our health, families, jobs and mortgages. no angry and idiotic hummer to the head should ever threaten that.
so if the umps won't do anything, then as manager i think there are things you can do to cool things.
1. act preventively: stop the game, talk to the other manager, urge him to go get his pitcher's attention, and tell the pitcher to cool it.
2. warn the other manager that if their pitcher hits one of your players you can and will file a code of conduct violation against him.
these are the relevant lines from the code of conduct which all players sign before the season:
"I will maintain control of my emotions. Excessive demonstrations, excessive arguing, abusive language, inappropriate gestures, making taunting or humiliating remarks, and physical assault upon any player, official or spectator at any time are unacceptable. ... I have read the above Code of Conduct and initialized each item. I understand that if I violate any item in the Code of Conduct, I may be suspended or expelled from the CDMSBL."
3. you might keep a copy of the code in your scorebook to show to the umps and the other manager.
4. if the pitcher still decides to throw at your player, yank your team off the field. let him and his teammates stand out there alone and tell the ump that you're filing a protest, that you won't go back on the field until this pitcher - who has violated the code of conduct - is warned or tossed from the game.
i don't know what the results of such an action would be, but i'm hoping sanity, corrected behavior by the pitcher or his removal and continued smart, safe play would be among them.
-mike
-- Edited by mhart on Thursday 21st of August 2014 11:49:46 AM
Sounds like a no brainer to me. The league board members should review this act of poor judgement and a make a ruling based on the league's code of conduct.
I am in NO WAY condoning the actions of the Mets pitcher (assuming what's been said here is 100% accurate), but Mike Hart brought up the Code of Conduct and I think it shows that the Code is flawed:
"Excessive demonstrations, excessive arguing, abusive language, inappropriate gestures, making taunting or humiliating remarks,"
Who is the judge of what is "excessive; abusive; inappropriate or humiliating?" Is it the umpires? If it is the umpires then while I certainly don't agree with the umpire's desicision to let a player "say whatever he wants," I certainly can see where the decision was left up to him and he made a judgement call. Maybe, in the pitcher's mind, the Dodgers celebration was "excessive?" And while that doesn't warrant a threat of serious physical violence, would he have been justified in asking the league to investigate the celebration of the Dodgers?
Just a thought.
The Code of Conduct may need to be worded better so we can give those who need to make these judgement calls on violations a clearer set of criteria to pass judgements on.
Also, I am glad to see that the Mets took corrective action on their own. I would hope the league would scrutinize any team's decision to add this player to their roster for 2015 if they so choose.
Last year the same sort of thing happened to our team , the opposing pitcher thought the man on 2nd was giving signs to the batter , the pitcher said " the next batter is going to get one in his ear hole " NOW we all heard it as well as the next batter and the next batter just happen to be a 6' 4" state trooper , did the ball come close to his eat hole? NO , but if he was by any chance hit accidentally it would have looked intentional. Things happen on the field and things are said on the field , at this point it would be senseless to take further action against anyone but maybe the league can modify rules of hitting batters and instead of 3 , make it 2 then you are removed from pitching in that game, so pitchers will have to be more accountable for intentionally hitting guys or accidentally . Congrats to the dodgers and Indians and I look forward to the finals should be great
It seems like something should have been done at the time it happened. To label or punish a guy (who obviously had a momentary lack of judgement) the next season or if he joins a new team seems harsh. I believe if an umpire hears a player say something like that he can police it on the field at the time. Either get the managers together briefly to calm things down or talk to the player and his manager. Punishing this player and labeling him for life seems PETE ROSEish....new baseball terminology...
Did we forget that this is supposed to be a game? Which I take to mean as a time to have fun. Thankfully, I didn't experience anything of this nature in this past year's Warrior campaign. Sure, it's the playoffs, but it's still just a game.
Do I get pissed off on the hill? HELL yeah I do! Do I give up bombs? You betcha - none this year though... ;) And when I do, I try to be a leader and compose myself and lead by example. But the response that I am reading about - even if thought of as a momentary lack of judgement - is uncalled for. Make your pitch - if it gets launched, so be it. Make a different pitch next time. If you get shown up, remember that, too... and get the sonofagun the next time you face him. Nothing tastes as sweet as redemption in the form of an opposing batter stepping into the bucket for strike 3. Or better yet, breaking his bat with a late running inside fastball. (And for the record, I splintered 8 this season - yes, I keep track. :)
As for this situation, I hope it is understood as wrong and we act as the grown men we are. If this were the 18+ division, I can at least understand it from a youth perspective. When I was 19-20 playing in the Twilight League in the mid-90s, I know I acted the same way... But I was 19-20, not a grown man with a family at 40.
Good luck to the teams in the finals. I don't know what the Warrior situation will be for next year, but if the Nisky Red takes the field, we'll be ready!
