Don Zimmer and the $5000 fine...

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

So I’m a pretty big Red Sox fan, so my view may be tainted.

But I have issues with the fines laid out after Saturday afternoon’s melee. Pedro was fined $50k and Don Zimmer only $5K!

Now was Pedro fined that much because he may have instigated the kofuffal while pitching? Or was because he threw Zimmer to the ground?

If you ask me Zimmer should have the higher fine, he sought Pedro out, then charged him with his fist raised. Pedro side stepped him and forced him to the ground (albeit a little rough).

What do you guys think?

MtM

#2

Yep, I am not a big sports fan so I can think of myself as objective : Zimmer was the attacker, he should be fine a heck of a lot more.
I couldn’t care less if he is 72 or has a metal plate in his head, if it was so important he wouldn’t have charged at Pedro like a raging bull to start with.
I find the difference in the fines outragious. They should both have a fine, and Zimmer, in my opinion, should have a slightly higher one.

Highjack : who gets this money from those fines in sports?

#3

I had heard someone on the radio say that Pedro was not fined for throwing Zimmer to the ground, but for threatening to bean everyone on the Yankee bench. True?

If it was for the “fight,” then Zimmer had it comming to him and should be fined just as everyone else.

#4

My real problem was that Manny was fined more than Zimmer. Pedro had some other things they could fine him for (whether I agree or not), but Manny just took exception to a pitch that looked like headhunting to him (though it wasn’t) and walked toward the mound while shouting. He did not “charge the mound, bat in hand” as so many places reported.

#5

Pedro was fined for the beaning and then the head pointing, plus the scuffle with Zim. But that part was minor.

#6

Two things came to mind for me:

  1. Don Zimmer has exhibited more class since that incident than could possibly be possessed by the rest of MLB combined. When I saw that press conferance I could have cried with him… This is possibly his last year in baseball, and most certainly not the way he wanted his years to end. For those reasons, the fine is an appropriate amount. He feels bad enough.

  2. Martinez should be fined even more, and suspended from post season play at that. Tossing poor old Don like that. Like Don Zimmer was going to whoop his ass or something. Please. Besides, I’m a Cubs fan, so I want Martinez out of there to make it easier for us to win the World Series…

#7

Most likely it’s because Pedro makes so much more than Zimmer, so $5K fine hits Zimmer harder than a $50K fine hits Pedro.

#8

I suspect that Zimmer will find a little extra in his performance bonus.

I’ve got to say that this certainly proves my comment in another thread that the idea old age = wisom is a delusion. For a 72 year old, especially one who looks like Zimmer, to charge an early 30’s athlete has to go down as one of the more boneheaded moves in baseball history.

I’m reminded of the story about a brawl between the Yankees and another team which showed that Lefty Gomez was a lot smarter than Zimmer. I don’t think the other team was the Red Sox, but let’s just pretend it was. During the melee, Yankee pitcher Gomez was observed stalking around the outside of the pile, bat in hand. When asked later what he was up to he said he was, “Looking for the Red Sox batboy.”

I think Marinez was fined more for his finger pointing threats to throw at the batter’s head. Threatening a beanball is a nono and I’m surprized he wasn’t ejected.

#9

I would venture to say that the outcome would have been different if you replaced Zimmer with, Jeter, for instance.

Zimmer was the physical attacker and was wrong. He should have been tossed. The fact that he wasn’t was probably just an homage to his years.

Hey, if a 6 year old comes running at me hard about to punch me in the balls, I’m going to put my hands in front of me and shuffle the kid to the side.

#10

Honestly… If you watched the game and still think that Zimmer deserves more than Pedro… you are crazy…
Pedro throws a high 95 mile an hour fastball at Garcia’s back, and then threatens to throw at Posada’s head… That deserves a fine.

Zimmer was wrong by charging him… but I still don’t get how you throw a 70 year old man.

I think Manny was fined for charging the mound with his bat in his hand…

#11

Yes, a little rough when the guy charging you is Mickey Rooney.

I guess I’m in the minority on this, but I sympathize with Zimmer, and I believe Martinez is a f–cking punk who should be thrown out of baseball. Should the Preparation H Man have charged an opposing pitcher, ostensibly offering him physical violence? Of course not. But if a guy that rickety and up in years comes at me like Zimmer did, I’d like to think I’d do nothing more damaging than shield myself from his ridiculous blows and then step aside. You don’t shove a 72-year-old man to the ground and claim you were just protecting yourself. It’s a weasel’s defense.

Yes, Zimmer should pay a fine. A higher fine than that scumbag Martinez? Not on your life.

#12

Slightly off topic but i’m getting pretty sick of sports figures making public apologies that are supposed to make everything better. I think they all use the same script.
“I want to apologize for blah, blah, blah. I want to apologize to the organization, I want to apologize to the fans, I want to apologize to my teammates, and I want to especially apologize to (sniff, sniff) my family (bwaa, haww)”

#13

According to several articles in local (NY) papers, baseball fines take into account base salary. So (numbers for example only) if Martinez is earning $5,000,000 and Zimmer $500,000, baseball would view the fines as equal.

#14

it really doesn’t matter because they are wealthy and have the money to cover it easily however Don zimmer should have had the same fine as pedro

Go SOX

#15

remind me again who Zimmer hit in the back with a fastball?
and who did he say he was going to bean in the head?