Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ minor league sensation and hot prospect Delmon Young was last night tossed from a game and responded by throwing his bat at the umpire.
He was immediately suspended by the International League, and the suspension is indefinite pending further investigation and deliberations.
So, what should his punishment be?
For those who haven’t seen the incident, you can watch the video at MLB.com. Just open the page and click on the “Delmon Young bat throwing” video link at the top.
At minimum assault charges are appropriate.
Or are you asking what the LEAGUE should do? If so I say can his ass right now. Baseball is rife with self important pricks as it is.
If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say he’s out for the year. I finally saw the footage of this incident on ESPN this evening, and I was really shocked. When I heard the phrase “flipped the bat at the umpire,” I figured he was standing at the plate, got frustrated and flipped the thing up in the air, and it happened to make contact with the ump. Nope. At best, he chucked the bat at the plate, in the direction of the umpire, and at worst he really did fling the thing at him. And his history proves this idiot has a real temper problem.
As if the threat of having to be a Devil Ray weren’t punishment enough!
I’m not a sports fan, but I’d say criminal charges should be pressed, and he should be banned from baseball. Sports figures should be required to act like good sports, even if it’s forced on them.
StG
At a minimum, he should be suspended for the rest of the year, and I agree that criminal charges should be pressed against him.
On ESPN last night, everyone kept referring to “the incident”, and I kept thinking “Um, the ‘incident’ was assault. With a deadly weapon, even. Why isn’t this guy sitting in a cell?”
Sorry.
I was asking about his punishment within the sport of baseball.
Unfortunately, i’m so accustomed to people getting away with behavior in sports that would qualify as assault if it happened on the street that i never even considered the possibilty of criminal charges. Although i’d be quite happy if charges were, in fact, brought against him.
HA HA HA HA HA.
Yeah, his punishment should be he has to be promoted.
Generally, what happens on the field stays on the field. Unless it is an egregious offence that seriously injures someone, it’s dealt with through the sport. Also, I don’t think a thrown bat is really a deadly weapon anymore than a thrown pistol is a deadly weapon (regardless of how many of Superman’s enemies have tried it).
One sportswriter I saw suggested 50 game suspension with a no tolerance probation afterwards. Any future incidents and you’re out of baseball forever.
WRT criminal charges, my bet is that he’d spend a couple of hours in a holding cell until his lawyer gets him out, then some community service, a fine and probation. Seriously, as ridiculous as the conduct was, he didn’t actually injure anyone. He’s a top prospect, with many millions of dollars of salary potentially ahead of him, MLB will have a lot more leverage to punish and improve his behavior than the courts.
Why, I oughta…
The video just shows the bat flying in from out of the frame; so we don’t know if he turned and fired it at the ump, or if he just flipped it in the general direction. And we don’t know Young’s reaction; it might’ve been “Omigod what have I done…!!!”
And what was Roberto Alomar’s punishment for spitting in an umpire’s face? 8 games? And in that case there was no question about intent.
Throwing it that hard in the direction of the plate, where you know the ump and the opposing catcher are, also merits a suspension. It’s still unsportsmanlike and dangerous, even if it’s not quite as bad. With his history - as the article notes, he was recently suspended for bumping an umpire, and also once tossed a bat in the direction of a pitcher who had hit him - it still warrants a major penalty.
Toss his ass and slam the door behind him. No good will come of any other punishment.
Agreed. I just think the calls for criminal penalties and/or lifetime bans are bit over the top.
I am willing to bet money that Young is in trouble every single year he plays pro ball. This kind of juvenile behavior will only get worse. The only question is what will get him first: kicked out for something on the field like this, or something in his off-field time that merits criminal charges.
The Devil Rays have enough problems without adding this hothead into the mix. Send him back to working the drive-through at Dairy Queen.
I don’t believe there will be any criminal charges. The Umpire is apparently okay.
I have heard everything from a 1/2 year suspension to the rest of the season.
I would suspend him for the rest of the season.
Jim