Single A Brawl

[GeorgiaBird]

Maybe this is the Oprah-ization of society, but it is in MLB's interest for fans to show up at the park not believing there is a chance they end up in the hospital because someone on the field threw a ball at them. The punishment has to say "I don't care if it was just a moment, I don't care if you are sorry later. Some things can simply never happen. Period." Maybe a suspension of 50 games like Delmon will do it, but you have to do something. The bottom line is you can not have a player throw a ball in rage, outside of the game, and hit a fan. And you have to send a message that will be remembered next time someone has the urge.

I don't think the fact that he didn't mean to hit the fan carries any weight, either. I can't imagine going before the judge and saying "Well, your honor, he only meant to maim or injure an opposing player, not a fan."

[Migrant Redbird]

I don't think the fact that he didn't mean to hit the fan carries any weight, either. I can't imagine going before the judge and saying "Well, your honor, he only meant to maim or injure an opposing player, not a fan."

If you really believe that a pitcher ought to be banned for life for throwing at a player(s) in the dugout, missing, and hitting a fan, then you should also be in favor of banning them for life for hitting a batter intentionally. At least, this fan was hit by accident, in the heat of the moment. Pitchers throw at batters on purpose, often under the express instructions of their managers. (Tony La Russa gets furious if one of his pitchers throws at a manager without being directed, but I don't see a large moral distinction between doing it on one's own and doing it upon direction. In Tony's case, it's all about him being a control freak.)

The only perceivable moral difference is that you know this pitcher threw the ball at someone deliberately, whereas we now ask umpires to read the minds of pitchers and managers before penalizing them. To me, there's not a huge amount of difference in assaulting another player with the apparent intent to injure and missing the intended target and hitting a fan.

[GeorgiaBird]

If you really believe that a pitcher ought to be banned for life for throwing at a player(s) in the dugout, missing, and hitting a fan, then you should also be in favor of banning them for life for hitting a batter intentionally. At least, this fan was hit by accident, in the heat of the moment. Pitchers throw at batters on purpose, often under the express instructions of their managers. (Tony La Russa gets furious if one of his pitchers throws at a manager without being directed, but I don't see a large moral distinction between doing it on one's own and doing it upon direction. In Tony's case, it's all about him being a control freak.)

The only perceivable moral difference is that you know this pitcher threw the ball at someone deliberately, whereas we now ask umpires to read the minds of pitchers and managers before penalizing them. To me, there's not a huge amount of difference in assaulting another player with the apparent intent to injure and missing the intended target and hitting a fan.

This isn't entirely about morals. This is about public perception. You are selling a product. And you can't have your employees willfully sending your customers to the hospital. You need to send a message to your employees that they can not do that, and to your customer that they have nothing to worry about.

I realize fans accidently get hit with bats and batted balls. I realize players get willfully hit by other players. And I realize it is all similar. But I do not agree it is the same.

[Migrant Redbird]

It's a minor league game. Only a small minority of fans will even catch the news item and even fewer will remember it by next week. If there were an epidemic of fans getting injured at ballgames, it would turn off a lot more fans and depress attendance.

If you want to know what would really devastate baseball's image and box office, watch what happens if some small, beautiful child gets impaled in the throat by one of those maple bats splitting and flying into the crowd. Baseball and the players' association have been discussing this issue for months without making any apparent movement towards redressing the issue. As long as there's no heart-ripping tragedy, like Coolbaugh's death last season, fans aren't going to care much, but the right type of tragedy could tarnish baseball's image worse than the Black Sox did.

Bud Selig and Don Fehr ought to get together and issue a public statement expressing their grave concerns, what can actually be done about it, and initiating a number of short term and long term fixes to resolve the problem.

(1) They can't order an immediate replacement of maple bats with ash, nor can they order players to use bats with larger handles immediately. It would take time for the bat manufacturers to do all that, and half the remaining season would be over.

(2) Personally, I think baseball should consider switching to composite bats, manufactured to specs requiring them to sound and perform as much like wooden bats as possible. The upside of that is that the NCAA and other amateur baseball organizations would probably follow suit, making it a lot easier for scouts to assess the merits of college and high school players and easier for players to transition into professional ball.

(3) If they can't do that, they should evaluate whether there is enough quality ash timber to replace maple bats. While they're at it, they should require a greater minimum circumference for bat handles. Umpires could have a template in their pocket to measure bats which get challenged by opposing teams (shades of the Brett pine tar incident). It probably wouldn't be possible to phase in these reforms before next season, but baseball needs to go public to demonstrate that they're concerned and not sitting on their thumbs.

(4) MLB should also consider whether they should require more screens to protect fans further down the foul lines. Personally, I doubt if that's a good idea, but it ought to be evaluated and a public position enunciated. Nothing would be worse than to make an assessment privately, then have that assessment leak out after a tragedy. Even if the course chosen was a valid one, the fact that it was not disclosed will prejudice public opinion against MLB.

[GeorgiaBird]

Good argument. Nothing to do with what I was talking about, but an interesting discussion all the same.

[Mad Mark]

It's a minor league game. Only a small minority of fans will even catch the news item and even fewer will remember it by next week. If there were an epidemic of fans getting injured at ballgames, it would turn off a lot more fans and depress attendance.

If you want to know what would really devastate baseball's image and box office, watch what happens if some small, beautiful child gets impaled in the throat by one of those maple bats splitting and flying into the crowd. Baseball and the players' association have been discussing this issue for months without making any apparent movement towards redressing the issue. As long as there's no heart-ripping tragedy, like Coolbaugh's death last season, fans aren't going to care much, but the right type of tragedy could tarnish baseball's image worse than the Black Sox did.

Bud Selig and Don Fehr ought to get together and issue a public statement expressing their grave concerns, what can actually be done about it, and initiating a number of short term and long term fixes to resolve the problem.

(1) They can't order an immediate replacement of maple bats with ash, nor can they order players to use bats with larger handles immediately. It would take time for the bat manufacturers to do all that, and half the remaining season would be over.

(2) Personally, I think baseball should consider switching to composite bats, manufactured to specs requiring them to sound and perform as much like wooden bats as possible. The upside of that is that the NCAA and other amateur baseball organizations would probably follow suit, making it a lot easier for scouts to assess the merits of college and high school players and easier for players to transition into professional ball.

(3) If they can't do that, they should evaluate whether there is enough quality ash timber to replace maple bats. While they're at it, they should require a greater minimum circumference for bat handles. Umpires could have a template in their pocket to measure bats which get challenged by opposing teams (shades of the Brett pine tar incident). It probably wouldn't be possible to phase in these reforms before next season, but baseball needs to go public to demonstrate that they're concerned and not sitting on their thumbs.

(4) MLB should also consider whether they should require more screens to protect fans further down the foul lines. Personally, I doubt if that's a good idea, but it ought to be evaluated and a public position enunciated. Nothing would be worse than to make an assessment privately, then have that assessment leak out after a tragedy. Even if the course chosen was a valid one, the fact that it was not disclosed will prejudice public opinion against MLB.

I don't know when we're going to get there, but I think this is where we're going to wind up. Knowing how much the manufacturers can tweak softball bats (either livelier or deader), I can't imagine they couldn't be able to produce a composite baseball bat that would solve this problem.

[Bosibus]

Bump

DAYTON, Ohio -- A minor league pitcher accused of throwing a ball that hit a fan in the forehead was indicted Wednesday on two counts of felonious assault.

Good, but:

Defense attorney Dennis Lieberman said Castillo, who is from the Dominican Republic, will plead not guilty. Lieberman said the charges aren't justified by the circumstances and his client has a good defense.

"In my research, I have found this to be an unprecedented indictment in American baseball," Lieberman said. "These are very serious charges that could destroy this kid's chance of ever playing baseball in the United States again."

In my opinion, he should be kicked out of baseball AND go to jail.