Brawl - State of Venezuelan Winter League Coverage

[Lindsay]

A huge bench-clearing brawl during Wednesday night's Venezuelan Winter League Leones del Caracas-Tiburones de La Guaira game reminds us of MLB's half-hearted "Caribbean Baseball" association, ejections which we haven't featured as of late due primarily to lack of video. By contrast, the Australian...

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[dumbdumb]

Let's not forget that Guzman already has a rep, both in the States and in Venezuela, for showing people up.

Many times, disrespect/showing up/not following the code, and all that can be different to different players, a gesture such as, looking at me the wrong way (you should just be looking at the ground-you are not good enough to look me in the eye, even if it is just in a friendly hello when passing each other--know your place).

Taking a extra base on me when I dog it in the field, stealing a base on me (not including the stealing the base when you are up 15-0 in the top of 9th inning), sliding hard into second on what I consider hard, not what you or baseball consider hard, throwing me off speed pitches (curveball, change-up, slider, forkball, etc.), rather than challenging me with a fast ball right down broadway.

Not letting me take 15 minutes to get into the batters box to start my at bat, and giving me 15 minutes to step back in if I step out on all the pitches, including when I am stepping out when I want to let the umpire know they disrespected me (because of who I am) by calling a pitch a strike that was not right down broadway, even though it was definitely a strike.

Even Tommy Lasorda drilled a veteran who was on his way out of the game because he failed to give Lasorda an autograph when the player was younger and Lasorda was 8 years old.

Mickey Mantle lamented that one of the worst things about his baseball stardom was having to finally stop signing auto-graphs to go catch the plane, before he could sign an autograph for everyone in the line, because he knew what it was like being a kid that wanted an autograph. Apparently there was not a long line for the once younger but now a veteran player when LaSorda asked, or perhaps the veteran was playing uppity on him, or told him to 'beat it kid'. Unless one was there, you would not know.

One just never knows what has happened or perceived by the aggrieved person/player earlier in a game prior to an incident or even something that goes back to childhood between players. And no matter how great you are as an umpire, if they want to go at it, no great words of wisdom or actions/warnings/preventive officiating/or great new theories/words invented lately, or anything else is going to stop that fight, or beanball, or bat flip what-so-ever, 100% of the time. The great words or actions may prevent an incident sometimes, or just for that day, but not 100% of the time. Some scores have been settled first thing the next year in Spring Training when time to settle the score during the regular Season or Playoffs ran out.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/jesus-guzman-shows-off-absurd-bat-flip/c-160166314

https://www.si.com/mlb/strike-zone/2013/06/19/jesus-guzmans-post-homer-antics-incite-giants

 

[BT_Blue]

@dumbdumb, or 4 full years later when no one cares anymore (cause you went on to win the title the year it happened). And even your catcher just stands there and watches you get punched in the face.

(We're looking right at you Hunter Strickland. YOU MORON!)