Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster has been suspended five games by Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing at Alex Rodriguez in the 2nd inning of the Sunday Night game between Boston and New York.
Dempster took four attempts at hitting Rodriguez, throwing behind him on the first pitch, coming in way inside on his second and third pitches and then finally hitting him in the elbow with his fourth pitch. If he was trying to hide his intentions, he didn’t do a very good job of it.
The benches would clear and Joe Girardi was livid with umpire Brian O’Nora for not throwing Dempster out of the game. Instead, O’Nora issued warnings to both sides. Rodriguez would go on to get his revenge with a game winning home run later in the night. Meanwhile Girardi would be fined for his animated displays.
Whatever your beliefs on A-Rod, MLB made the right call here. You simply cannot allow pitchers around the league to take the law into their own hands and throw at A-Rod for his alleged transgressions. While many including MLB Commissioner Bud Selig feel that Rodriguez should be suspended for his role in the Biogenesis scandal, as a human being and a member of the MLBPA he has the right to a defence before the punishment is given. He has every right to appeal his 211 game suspension, if he doesn’t believe that it is fair, and he has the right to continue to play until his appeal is heard.
Dempster firing 90 MPH fastballs and trying to hit an opponent is wrong. A baseball thrown directly at someone is a weapon. Sure guys get hit unintentionally all the time. But lets face it getting hit with a fastball hurts, and if its unintentional, it can be forgiveable; but in Dempsters case there was no doubt that
That said we are even assuming that the Biogenesis scandal is the reason for Dempster’s actions. This may not be the case. Journalist Wayne Scanlan left the following tweets after the incident.
Met Ryan Dempster in Detroit. Said he had an issue with A-Rod and would drill him first chance he got. Man of his word. #soxyanks
— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) August 19, 2013
A-Rod snubbed Dempster at a public event. Dempster was not impressed.
— Wayne Scanlan (@HockeyScanner) August 19, 2013
Whatever the reason it does not matter. You simply shouldn’t be intentionally firing 90 MPH fastballs at another person.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your comments below, follow our baseball department on twitter @LastWordMatt, @Nvincelli and @lastwordmark. You can also follow the site while you are at it – @lastwordonsport.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? If so, check out our “Join Our Team” page to find out how.
