12/21/24
April 27, 2006
The Young Is The Restless: Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Delmon Young has been suspended indefinitely by the International League after firing a bat into the chest of the home-plate umpire. The younger brother of Detroit Tiger Dimitri Young, Delmon has apologized for the incident.
As a bit more background, minor-league umpires are currently on strike, and the Durham manager said he hadn't spoke to Young and hadn't "gotten his side of it." "We've had some problems with different umpires and it's tough. But I can't say any more," he said. Also, I'd swear that when Dmitri was in the Cardinal farm system, he either threw a bat into the stands or went up in the bleachers after a fan. I thought he was playing in Springfield at the time, but I haven't been able to dredge anything up about it. Maybe I'm just nuts.
posted by wfrazerjr at 04:06 PM on April 27, 2006
If it is as it sounds in the article an indefinite suspension seems a bit much.
posted by MassNole at 04:07 PM on April 27, 2006
He was obviously just trying to get the bat into the rack in the other dugout.
posted by irunfromclones at 04:08 PM on April 27, 2006
Funny how something like this happens right before this http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/baseball/3824671.html
posted by GoBirds at 04:11 PM on April 27, 2006
Holy bejeezus, you should see me when someone calls me something as derogatory as "porkchop", whoa man hide the mashed potatoes yo. Don't even mention gravy or I really blow my top.
posted by GoBirds at 04:19 PM on April 27, 2006
I'm not a big believer in the single-bat theory, quite frankly. Who else was on the grassy on-deck circle that day? (Sorry.) Sounds like he'll accept whatever suspension is delivered to him. After that, he'll just have to live it down, which judging from his statement he understands and is prepared to do.
posted by chicobangs at 04:20 PM on April 27, 2006
Funny how quick they can apologize by reading a prepared statement by a lawyer. That's real sincere. There's always an excuse other than taking responsibility for their own actions. Durham manager says he hasn't gotten Young's side of it. What the hell excuse can there be for throwing a bat at an umpire.
posted by joromu at 04:33 PM on April 27, 2006
Wait, has anyone seen this guy and Ron Artest in the same room together?
posted by irunfromclones at 04:36 PM on April 27, 2006
That's real sincere. There's always an excuse other than taking responsibility for their own actions. Young didn't make any excuses. His manager made a reference to problems, but nothing in Young's statement puts any blame on anyone but himself.
posted by bperk at 04:53 PM on April 27, 2006
The real mystery here: the Red Sox own their own TV network. They're talking about buying a radio station. But they don't have a live camera feed for home plate at McCoy. This is the same place Izzy Alcantra once kicked a catcher in the chest.
posted by yerfatma at 05:22 PM on April 27, 2006
Wow, just watched the video of the incident from the link. Where was the manager? Young was standing there at the plate long enough after the strike was called for him to have gotten out there and gotten his player off the hook. If the manager had come out, he not only saves Young from the ejection, but also the suspension....
posted by elovrich at 07:27 PM on April 27, 2006
Ump should file assault charges on the bozo.
posted by joromu at 07:32 PM on April 27, 2006
What the manager meant when he said he needed to hear his side was, maybe the ump dropped the "N" bomb or something. Other than that, I cant immagine anything else that would make someone do that. Either way baseball is a family sport and there is no place for that, at any level. Baseball isn't a right it is a privilege. He should lose his privilege.
posted by BigSpizznizzle at 09:49 PM on April 27, 2006
How about bannination from baseball for life? Sustained injuries to the referee aside, the intent in this scenario is the same.
posted by redsnare at 08:31 AM on April 28, 2006
Taking away someone's entire future career at the age of 19 seems like a pretty harsh punishment, redsnare. The difference between your link and this story seems pretty clear to me. If Young had really intended to inflict harm on the umpire, then he would have.
posted by bperk at 09:04 AM on April 28, 2006
Taking someone's future away my ass! That punk threw his future away when he threw that bat. I hope his suspension is at least for the balance of the season, and would prefer not to see him next year either.
posted by Scottymac at 09:34 AM on April 28, 2006
Banned for life? For flipping his bat? After watching this video several times, I find myself waffling on the degree of scorn I want to reserve for Young (there's scorn, to be sure, but how much, I don't know). The bat is flipped pretty hard, but underhand, and even though it hit the ump square it didn't seem to injure him at all. I'm not a "no harm, no foul" guy across the board, but I also don't see this as a "we have got to crush this or we'll have a bat flinging epidemic on our hands" situation. Most players, including Young it would appear, know how stupid this is. There's a guy who once beat a player in the head with a bat in his hands and received a stiff fine and just a one week suspension, but that didn't begin a trend of clubbing people at the slightest provocation. Young deserves a penalty, but nowhere close to a lifetime ban. I bet he never does it again.
posted by BullpenPro at 09:41 AM on April 28, 2006
You can blame it all on Jon Lester. Kid's just nasty. This is the same place Izzy Alcantra once kicked a catcher in the chest. Relive the glory of the Alcantara incident here
posted by YukonGold at 09:52 AM on April 28, 2006
Bullpenpro I've read that story before but everytime I read it still makes me mad. Obviously times are different, but a league that allows such an obvious assault to go relatively unpunished is sickening. However, that incident will not have anything to do with Young's punishment. I think he will be suspended, but not for too long and certainly not for life.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 10:27 AM on April 28, 2006
Really, you gotta hand it to him; his actions sucked, but his apology is real -- he takes responsibility and says he's sorry, not for how others interpreted what he did (which is how people seem to apologize more and more nowadays), but for what he did. That's a sincere apology. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve a long suspension, but second-guessing an apology like that is cynical to say the least.
posted by Hugh Janus at 10:53 AM on April 28, 2006
That punk threw his future away when he threw that bat. There are some openings for writers on Guiding Light. I think you'd fit right in. Regardless of the crime, he's 19. I might have cracked someone's skull open with a bat at 19 and then hit his wife when she came to say goodbye to the dying love-of-her-life, because I was an angry and emotional kid. If I had beat those two people to death and then had sex with their corpses (at the same time) in front of a small youth audience, would you have wanted me banned from sport as well? Hey, maybe we could get a writing gig together!
posted by yerfatma at 11:39 AM on April 28, 2006
That's the worst camera angle ever. You can't even see him, all you can see is the bat flying. I suspect that a sinister bat boy is really behind this whole mess.