Bad sports, good sports: When throwing at a batter is not okay

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 by Alan Spoll

There are a variety of reasons why a pitcher will intentionally hit a batter with a pitch. Often, it is done as a retaliation after a slow homerun trot or a batter on the pitcher’s team had already been hit by the opposing pitcher. Baseball is filled with “unwritten rules” that dictate when various things need to happen, and “purpose” pitches certainly fall into this category. Many times, the pitch does not actually hit the batter, but merely makes him dive out of the way. Baseball writers sometimes call this “chin music,” romanticizing the concept of revenge in the national pastime. Is this all really okay? I guess it depends on who you ask. There are times, though, when it is very clearly not okay. Sunday’s preseason game between the Colorado Rockies and the Cleveland Indians in Scottsdale, Arizona, was one of those times.

Indians’ pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was traded to Cleveland from Colorado during the 2011 season. Jimenez had been a very good player for the Rockies for a number of years, particularly during the 2010 season, when he won 19 games and had an E.R.A. under 3, and also pitched his first career no-hitter. He had recently told a reporter from the Denver Post that he had been upset at not receiving a contract extension while with the Rockies, despite the fact that they had extended other players, including Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies’ spectacular star shortstop. Tulowitzki was quoted in that story as saying that Jimenez needed to move on. Sunday, the two faced each other in the first inning of a meaningless preseason game. Jimenez hit Tulowitzki on the left arm, knocking him from the game and causing him to be sent for x-rays (which were negative). Lots of yelling and posturing followed the incident, but no punches were thrown.

If this happens so often in baseball, why I am calling this incident out as being a problem? For a number of reasons. First and foremost, this was a preseason game! Intentionally hitting one of the game’s best young stars and taking the chance of seriously injuring him in order to send a message regarding your displeasure at something that not only happened last year but also really had nothing to do with that player is way over the line. To do so in an exhibition game is unforgivable. Jimenez claims it was not done on purpose, but that was clearly a lie. He deserves a serious suspension. The Indians do not face the Rockies this season, which Jimenez surely knew, so he did not put himself at risk in some future game. It was a thoroughly spineless move. Fortunately, Tulowitzki was not seriously hurt and expects to be ready for the impending start of the regular season.

The baseball fan in me is revolted by what Jimenez did. If the “baseball gods” so many people reference are real, the pitcher has a rough season ahead of him.

Bad sports, continued:

2) Newport Harbor High School, which is in Southern California, suspended its entire basketball team last week after threats were made against the head coach and his wife. The coach, Larry Hirst, has since resigned from his position. He coached at Newport Harbor for 15 years.

3) Has there ever been a more put-upon athlete than Donovan McNabb? This week, McNabb, who has been popping up on a lot of ESPN broadcasts, found a couple of new ways to continue his “oh woe is me” campaign that he has been on for a number of years now. First, on Thursday, McNabb stated that Robert Griffin III would not do well in Washington playing for Mike Shanahan, which is likely where he is headed after the Redskins traded up to the second overall spot in the upcoming NFL Draft. This theory was predicated on the fact that McNabb himself did horribly playing for Shanahan a couple of years back, which clearly had to be someone’s fault other than his own. Later in the week, McNabb referred to himself as the most unfairly criticized player in the history of the NFL. Hey Don – there was nothing unfair about much of that criticism. I was a fan of McNabb’s for years, but his incredible ability to always say the wrong thing eventually wore me down, especially when combined with all of those passes thrown in the dirt.

4) Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf, often called the biggest bust in NFL Draft history, continues to make news for the wrong reasons. The one-time quarterback was arrested in Montana on Friday on charges of burglary and drug possession after he allegedly broke into a friend’s house to steal Oxycodone.

5) Erving Walker, a guard on the University of Florida basketball team that made it to the Elite Eight in this year’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, was arrested on Friday for allegedly stealing a taco from a street vendor.

6) Kentucky and Louisville played each other on Saturday in one of the two Final Four games for the NCAA Tournament. These two schools are bitter rivals, and Kentucky, the overall top seed in the tournament, outlasted the Cardinals to take the victory. The Louisville side did take an earlier decision, though. Two men, one 68 years old and the other 71, got into a fistfight in a dialysis clinic in Georgetown, Kentucky, while arguing about the upcoming game. The Louisville fan landed the only punch in the fight.

7) Dwight Freeney, a star defensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts, had over two million dollars stolen from him over the last several years by his financial adviser, according to a story by the Associated Press.

8) Micah True, a runner and author best known for running what are known as Ultra Marathons, races often far longer than the traditional 26.1 miles, was found dead near a stream in southern New Mexico on Saturday after a lengthy search. He had been missing since leaving for a run on Tuesday.

Good sports:

1) Back in November, Kurt Budke, the head coach of the Oklahoma State women’s basketball team, died in a plane crash that also claimed the life of one of the team’s assistant coaches along with the plane’s pilot and his wife. On Saturday, the team took the title in the Women’s NIT, beating James Madison, 75-68. What a great way for them to end what had to be a very difficult season.

2) Novak Djokovic continues to dominate men’s tennis. On Sunday, he won his third Sony Ericsson Open, defeating Andy Murray to take the title. Djokovic did not lose a single set during the tournament.

Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02