Apparently, Jason Esposito threw a F-Bomb tantrum at a 16 year old girl.

[Flosman]

I mean seriously. How can a guy be a prospect if he's a beta? We should cut him now because clearly beta's are not major league prospects.

I don't know Jeter is a Beta to his GF Alex and it worked out.

[Gurgi]

Exactly what I was going to post after reading through this thread. Nice to see the GM took a proactive approach to making the "customer" happy.

Yeah. No one should ever forget without fans paying money to watch these guys play they wouldnt have jobs.

So the fans should be well treated.

[notfast]

Everyone also needs to remember that despite just a 6 year age difference, there SHOULD be a maturity difference between a professional baseball player and a teenage girl with her family at a baseball game.

Some of these "well this could have happened" posts are ridiculous. A 22 year old ADULT who travels around the country doing his job is on a different level than a 16 year old KID with her dad at a baseball game.

I'm sure both sides of the story aren't 100% factual. I'm also sure that the ADULT in this situation should have handled it differently.

[glenn__davis]

Some of these "well this could have happened" posts are ridiculous. A 22 year old ADULT who travels around the country doing his job is on a different level than a 16 year old KID with her dad at a baseball game.

I'm sure both sides of the story aren't 100% factual. I'm also sure that the ADULT in this situation should have handled it differently.

But we don't really know - for certain - how the "adult" behaved. That's the whole point.

In HS I had a classmate who didn't like one of our male teachers. One day he put his arm on her shoulder explaining a problem - it was very innocent, clearly no ill intent - she accused him of sexual harrassment. She knew it was a crock, we know it was a crock, but the teacher still was suspended for a month while it was investigated.

I am not saying this girl is a liar or that this story is fake. I'm just saying I wouldn't be shocked if it was exaggerated. It does seem odd to me that no one else would have seen it.

[Gurgi]

But we don't really know - for certain - how the "adult" behaved. That's the whole point.

In HS I had a classmate who didn't like one of our male teachers. One day he put his arm on her shoulder explaining a problem - it was very innocent, clearly no ill intent - she accused him of sexual harrassment. She knew it was a crock, we know it was a crock, but the teacher still was suspended for a month while it was investigated.

I am not saying this girl is a liar or that this story is fake. I'm just saying I wouldn't be shocked if it was exaggerated. It does seem odd to me that no one else would have seen it.

Why do you want to slow down my "jump to conclusions!"

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/additional/large/office_space_kit_mat.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/8e6c/&h=610&w=400&sz=49&tbnid=WoW7L5_mSZ820M:&tbnh=93&tbnw=61&zoom=1&usg=__y30xM0QN-EIXkzo2tlaJp-hwaQs=&docid=SMYmDsmyCGuuEM&sa=X&ei=3f00UNjDGc2P0QH6u4HoBg&ved=0CG0Q9QEwBA&dur=9894

[Nigel Tufnel]

I don't know Jeter is a Beta to his GF Alex and it worked out.

Jeter got to stay at SS, though, so maybe he's alpha. And ARod seems like a beta anyway.

[xian4]

I'm not an apologist but as the father of a 16 year old daughter, there is likely to be a sub-plot here.

What are the chances that the girl had a big crush on Jason and just lost it when he told her that he wanted this jersey for his gf, smashing her heart to pieces and upsetting her fantasies. If she was really emotional about the encounter, her recollection could have been a little skewed by jealously.

[Nigel Tufnel]

I'm not an apologist but as the father of a 16 year old daughter, there is likely to be a sub-plot here.

What are the chances that the girl had a big crush on Jason and just lost it when he told her that he wanted this jersey for his gf, smashing her heart to pieces and upsetting her fantasies. If she was really emotional about the encounter, her recollection could have been a little skewed by jealously.

It did seem a little strange that the day after the jersey incident, the girl was back trying to get Esposito's autograph and was upset that she was snubbed.

[Tony-OH]

But we don't really know - for certain - how the "adult" behaved. That's the whole point.

In HS I had a classmate who didn't like one of our male teachers. One day he put his arm on her shoulder explaining a problem - it was very innocent, clearly no ill intent - she accused him of sexual harrassment. She knew it was a crock, we know it was a crock, but the teacher still was suspended for a month while it was investigated.

I am not saying this girl is a liar or that this story is fake. I'm just saying I wouldn't be shocked if it was exaggerated. It does seem odd to me that no one else would have seen it.

The difference here is motivation. The classmate had motivation to exaggerate the issue, a 16-year old self-proclaimed super Shorebird fan doesn't have any motivation to make Esposito look bad. Unless of course she looked up his batting average this year and felt wronged.

[kenlmahan]

Those ragging on Minor don't know what they are talking about and should not comment until they do. As with any other minor league team, the Shorebirds organization runs the business end of team operations but who is on the team, who plays, how much they play, whether punishment is warranted and what that punishment should be, are all determined from the Orioles offices in Baltimore. Neither Chris Bitters, Ryan Minor, or the attendants in the parking lot for that matter have any say in player personnel matters. They can give their input & observations and forward that to the appropriate Orioles front office person but that is the extent of it.

The way these auctions work is that it is done as a silent auction up until the 6th inning. At that point, the sheets are all taken off the table. Live auction begins at the highest silent auction price and anyone who put down a bid during the silent auction phase can participate in the live auction but they must be present to do so. It is rare for a fan/bidder to know whether a girlfriend, parent, or other friend of a player is trying to win a jersey but when that is known most fans will back off. From what I have been told, players have the option to withhold their jersey from being in the auction if they choose to do so for some reason. If that is the case, then if this was so important and such a big deal to Jason he missed his first chance right there.

I also heard that the girlfriend or whoever was supposed to be bidding on Jason's behalf was not present for the live auction and as such, was not able to participate. Why they were not there, how much of an effort was made to be there, and who was responsible for them not being there are things I do not know and cannot comment on. There was a second chance missed if this was so important to him. In any case, the behavior of J.E. (maybe J/A or J/O would be more appropriate initials in this case) can explained but cannot under any circumstance be excused or tolerated. His pitiful performance this season will probably get him a return trip here again next year unless the Orioles decide to get rid of him but it does not justify cussing out a 16-year-old. If he proves himself to be sincerely and truly remorseful for what he did (time will tell) and makes a real effort at improved behavior, then I reserve the right to change my current judgements of him.

[Ruzious]

Can I ask a stupid question that's been bugging me from the start on this bizarre incident? If Esposito wants his girlfriend to have a game worn jersey of his, why doesn't he just give her one? I'm guessing the team isn't so cheap that it won't give him extra jerseys. He plays in over 100 games. That's like... let me do the math... just a minute... carry the 5... okay, I got it... over 100 opportunities to give her a genuine mediocre A Ball player's game worn jersey. If it'll help make the problem go away, I will personally sign the jersey - From Ruz with my condolences.

[sbsd123]

My son is a player in the organization. The players can't just have their jerseys. But at the end of the year each player is given the opportunity to buy a jersey. I can't remember the cost, but it was a little over $100, I think. So he will be able to get her a jersey. Also the way those fundraiser, bid-on-a-jersey things work is the GM can try to save the jersey for the player or player's family member for a certain amount of money. I did this last year and was able to get my son's jersey. I can't remember what I had to pay. I heard that the GM was supposed to hold the jersey for Esposito and didn't. Still, as adults we know these things happen. And his reaction was not appropriate. But just know it is not really that easy to just give someone a jersey until the end of the year. Still no excuse for his actions.

[McLovin]

It was a special purple jersey.

I might care more about this story if Espisito weren't a future insurance salesman.

[Ruzious]

My son is a player in the organization. The players can't just have their jerseys. But at the end of the year each player is given the opportunity to buy a jersey. I can't remember the cost, but it was a little over $100, I think. So he will be able to get her a jersey. Also the way those fundraiser, bid-on-a-jersey things work is the GM can try to save the jersey for the player or player's family member for a certain amount of money. I did this last year and was able to get my son's jersey. I can't remember what I had to pay. I heard that the GM was supposed to hold the jersey for Esposito and didn't. Still, as adults we know these things happen. And his reaction was not appropriate. But just know it is not really that easy to just give someone a jersey until the end of the year. Still no excuse for his actions.

I stand corrected. The team is extraordinarily cheap. Most of the players are paid next to nothing, and they don't even give them jerseys? The more I learn about the life of a minor leaguer, the less glamorous (for lack of a better word) it sounds to the point where - it's kinda sad. How much would it cost them to just give them each a few jerseys and treat them like they're valued assets? If the cost is really a burden on the minor league team owner, why can't the O's step in for that relatively "minor" expense? It's a small thing, but I think Buck is trying to get through to the organization that small things matter. That should be true at every level.

[PoleyFan]

I stand corrected. The team is extraordinarily cheap. Most of the players are paid next to nothing, and they don't even give them jerseys? The more I learn about the life of a minor leaguer, the less glamorous (for lack of a better word) it sounds to the point where - it's kinda sad. How much would it cost them to just give them each a few jerseys and treat them like they're valued assets? If the cost is really a burden on the minor league team owner, why can't the O's step in for that relatively "minor" expense? It's a small thing, but I think Buck is trying to get through to the organization that small things matter. That should be true at every level.

Yeah, a jersey can be held back from an auction or purchased at the end of the season for around $150 each, but there are NO free jerseys at any time. I remember bidding on - and winning - a jersey for a player who wanted to give it to his dad for Father's Day. I don't know if he knew about the "hold it back for $150" policy, but he should have, because I believe it ended up going for $210 or $220. They do get a discount - 20% or 30%? - at the Shorebirds shop! Also, for what it's worth, Esposito's girlfriend was in a minor car accident on her way to the stadium which is why she didn't arrive in time, and which probably also didn't help his stress level that night. Agreed, though: No reason to lose it on a fan.