Devil Rays prospect throws bat at plate umpire

[tmp44]

ESPN.com has video of the incident:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2423307

[ToGreySt]

after seing this video, I would vote to lifetime ban his a$$. I had no idea it was this bad. can any of the pro-union people on this board honestly say that this guy got what he deserved? He got hit in the chest with a bat, that was thrown at him from over 20 feet away. If this happend on the street, young would be facing criminal charges.

lifetime ban, 1 strike and you're out

Joe

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by ToGreySt

after seing this video, I would vote to lifetime ban his a$$. I had no idea it was this bad. can any of the pro-union people on this board honestly say that this guy got what he deserved? He got hit in the chest with a bat, that was thrown at him from over 20 feet away. If this happend on the street, young would be facing criminal charges.

lifetime ban, 1 strike and you're out

Joe

I do not think anyone has said that a player does not deserve to be suspended. The fact that this incident happen to an umpire and the fact the reality this umpire might not have been properly trained in are two separate issues.

I also do not agree with a lifetime ban. I can see this player being suspended the entire season but that is not going to happen either. I think anywhere from 30-50 would not upset me. This is also not my decision.

Peace

[Rich]

Originally Posted by ToGreySt

after seing this video, I would vote to lifetime ban his a$$. I had no idea it was this bad. can any of the pro-union people on this board honestly say that this guy got what he deserved? He got hit in the chest with a bat, that was thrown at him from over 20 feet away. If this happend on the street, young would be facing criminal charges.

lifetime ban, 1 strike and you're out

Joe

My God. I hadn't seen the video until now and thought it was just a little flick of the bat. If that had hit him in the face, it could've knocked him out.

I mean, this quote from the article:

Originally Posted by Some moron rat out of touch with reality

"It wasn't violent, and I don't feel it was meant to hit him," he said.

I'd hate to see it if it WAS violent and it DID mean to hit him.

Oh, and this:

Originally Posted by What this guy's really like

In Double-A ball last year, Young was suspended for three games by the Southern League for bumping the chest of plate umpire Jeff Latter.

So either the AMLU guy is an idiot or Latter isn't "professionally trained" cause goodness knows that a "professionally trained" umpire would've handled this situation differently. Maybe the AMLU guy's just a professionally trained idiot.

And to me, it looked like a routine, everyday ejection.

[WhatWuzThatBlue]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I do not think anyone has said that a player does not deserve to be suspended. The fact that this incident happen to an umpire and the fact the reality this umpire might not have been properly trained in are two separate issues.

I also do not agree with a lifetime ban. I can see this player being suspended the entire season but that is not going to happen either. I think anywhere from 30-50 would not upset me. This is also not my decision.

Peace

What??? Did you actually think before you wrote that second sentence?

It hurt my head so much that I asked the four year old down the street to translate it. He says that you are implying that this umpire may not have been adequately trained how to prepare himself for being hit by a thrown bat. Is that what you meant? No, his younger sister said that you may have meant that he wasn't properly trained to officiate that game, although the video clearly shows he handled it exactly as the 'real' guys would have. Did you mean that?

You couldn't possibly have thought that he wasn't capable of working that level of ball since D1 umpires and ex-Minor Leaguers have been working that park since the season began. Watch more than the fifteen second clip and you'll see a pro at work.

By the way, the Baseball America article points out the lunacy of the AMLU justifying their cause through this incident. "If a replacement umpire hadn't been there, this wouldn't have happened." Right...

Read Young's apology on ESPN.com and you'll see that he knows (has been told!) that his actions were reckless. His history of acting like a horse's *** make him the perfect poster child for the AMLU - only not the way they would prefer. I guess that naming the umpire to the AP and saying that he probably brought it on himself are their way of supporting their brother umpires. Chalk this up as another blown call by the union and that pinhead IL crew chief (I won't name him).

[rpumpire]

Why isn't anybody talking about criminal charges? In Massachusetts, it would be considered assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a felony!

[Dave Reed]

Here's better quality video that shows the actual pitch. The announcer suggests that Young may have thought the pitch was high, but I suppose that he thought it was outside. It couldn't have been a real bad pitch; in fact he may have been called out on his checked swing. To my eye, things look fairly calm until Young appears to be saying something to the umpire as he walks toward the first base dugout, and the ejection follows emphatically. I'm hard pressed to see anything obviously wrong with the umpire's call or handling of the situation.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/index.jsp

[tmp44]

Now that we have the entire clip I can just see that some people on here are going to say how the pitch was outside, that only a scab umpire would have blown a call like that, and therefore deserved what he got....please people prove me wrong

[umpduck11]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

For all you know the frustration of the players dealing with umpires that are not used to this kind of ball. If I see varsity players and coaches get upset with umpires you think this is not going to apply in the pros?


Peace

"Get upset" ? Frustration comes with nearly every occupation,
certainly not just sports. The issue to me is how you handle the
stresses and frustrations. I damn sure can't throw something at
someone during the course of my workday. It's a little thing called
"self-control".
I don't give a rip if he was called out on three straight in the
freakin' dirt, there is no excuse to throw a bat at anyone. Obviously,
some here believe that it's ok, as long as they have a low opinion
of the victim. It's kinda like bigots: "Oh, it's ok, it's only (insert any
ethnic group here).

[ToGreySt]

Originally Posted by umpduck11

It's kinda like bigots: "Oh, it's ok, it's only (insert any
ethnic group here).

very well put, I agree completly

Joe

[SanDiegoSteve]

The pitch looked a bit outside, but I've seen a lot worse called a strike, especially when certain Atlanta pitchers used to pitch.

Young definitely said something to get tossed. Up until then the umpire had shown great patience with the surly rat just standing there. I think the umpire handled it every bit as good as any pro umpire would have.

I hope this guy gets the maximum allowable suspension for this unexcusable act. It was far from just a "toss," he winged it pretty hard. Ought to be in jail right now.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by umpduck11

"Get upset" ? Frustration comes with nearly every occupation,
certainly not just sports. The issue to me is how you handle the
stresses and frustrations. I damn sure can't throw something at
someone during the course of my workday. It's a little thing called
"self-control".
I don't give a rip if he was called out on three straight in the
freakin' dirt, there is no excuse to throw a bat at anyone. Obviously,
some here believe that it's ok, as long as they have a low opinion
of the victim. It's kinda like bigots: "Oh, it's ok, it's only (insert any
ethnic group here).

Please let us not compare sports to other occupations. No one goes around yelling at authority figures because a situation does not go their way in real life. Also sports is about the only place where it is acceptable for people to yell at anyone and call them all kinds of names or heckle them because they are with another company (team) or by customers (fans). Also no one said it was acceptable to throw a bat at someone.

Peace

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by mattmets

From the front page of amlu.org:From the front page of amlu.org

Statement From IL Crew Chief on Delmon Young Incident

"The incident which occurred between Delmon Young and replacement umpire, Richard Cacciatore, is unfortunate to say the least. In most of my dealings with Delmon in the past he has handled himself in a respectful, professional manner. I think the rest of the regular International League umpire staff would echo my sentiments. I can only hope this does not tarnish the career of such a fine, young prospect. Furthermore, I would speculate the whole incident could have been avoided had properly trained, professional umpires been officiating the game." Chris Hubler, IL Crew Chief

Chris, in his haste to make the replacement look responsible must have forgotten that this "fine, young prospect", tossed a bat at a pitcher and bumped and umpire in games officiated by MiLB umpires just last year. Chris' memory is certainly convenient at best.

"In Double-A ball last year, Young was suspended for three games by the Southern League for bumping the chest of plate umpire Jeff Latter."

Maybe Jeff could refresh Chris' memory.

I fully support the MiLB umpires' goals and demands, but I am disappointed in their rush to use the actions of this a-hole as something caused by a replacement umpire. I don't know who is advising their PR staff, but whoever it is should be fired. The AMLU should be leading by example.

[David B]

Originally Posted by GarthB

Chris, in his haste to make the replacement look responsible must have forgotten that this "fine, young prospect", tossed a bat at a pitcher and bumped and umpire in games officiated by MiLB umpires just last year. Chris' memory is certainly convenient at best.

"In Double-A ball last year, Young was suspended for three games by the Southern League for bumping the chest of plate umpire Jeff Latter."

Maybe Jeff could refresh Chris' memory.

I fully support the MiLB umpires' goals and demands, but I am disappointed in their rush to use the actions of this a-hole as something caused by a replacement umpire. I don't know who is advising their PR staff, but whoever it is should be fired. The AMLU should be leading by example.

ESPN on Baseball Tonight was covering the escapades of Young the last few years and its not a pretty site.

The Devil Rays now say they are going to get some counsel for his "anger management problem".

Trying to cover up a "bad apple" who has lots of talent but no values.

Thanks
DAvid

[WhatWuzThatBlue]

I'm glad to see that the rational amongst this board understand that this player's behavior is never warranted! As I wrote earlier, it doesn't matter what the umpire did or did not say/do. This clown threw a bat at the umpire and he will be punished acordingly. In my eyes, it won't be severe enough, but that is an issue for another thread.

Originally Posted by J.Rutledge

Please let us not compare sports to other occupations. No one goes around yelling at authority figures because a situation does not go their way in real life. Also sports is about the only place where it is acceptable for people to yell at anyone and call them all kinds of names or heckle them because they are with another company (team) or by customers (fans). Also no one said it was acceptable to throw a bat at someone.

I guess that Jeff doesn't have a relative who is in law enforcement.