Machado suspended after home plate meltdown; Umps say his violent behavior sets a bad example
(Updated June 19) Yesterday, Joe Torre, Chief Baseball Officer for Major League Baseball, announced that San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado was to be disciplined with a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for aggressively arguing and making contact with home-plate Umpire Bill Welke following Machado’s ejection in the top of the fifth inning of Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver.
Machado lost his cool with Welke following a borderline strike call on a 2-2 pitch from Colorado Rockies starter German Marquez, according to CBS Sports.
Machado’s suspension was scheduled to be served last night, when the Padres hosted the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Machado has elected to file an appeal. Thus, his suspension will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.
As part of his appeal, Machado is expected to claim that he never touched the home plate ump while melting down at the plate and is hoping that video of the incident will support that claim.
The MLB Umpires Association felt that the one-game suspension was too light of a punishment for Machado. They vented their displeasure on Twitter with hashtags: #Disappointed #LeadByExample #NotAppreciated #Violence #TemperTantrum #Inaction #NotTolerated #MakeanExampleof #OneGameSuspension #RepeatOffender #Nonsense #MLBUA @MLB @Padres @Buster_ESPN
You can see their tweet below:
And then the Umps posted to their Facebook page:
Manny has been one of the bad boys of baseball since getting his start in the bigs with the Baltimore Orioles in 2012. Back in those days, management passed off his bad behavior and unsportsmanlike conduct citing his age and lack of maturity and experience. Now 26-years-old, and a baseball millionaire, it’s time for Manny to start acting his age. Per Spotrac:
Manny Machado signed a 10 year / $300,000,000 contract with the San Diego Padres, including a $20,000,000 signing bonus, $300,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $30,000,000. In 2019, Machado will earn a base salary of $10,000,000 and a signing bonus of $20,000,000, while carrying a total salary of $12,000,000.
Update: The vehement pushback by the Umps surrounding Machado’s behavior and what they considered to be a light discipline necessitated a statement from Major League Baseball to defend their actions and call out the MLB Umpires Association for crossing the line regarding their comparison of Machado’s behavior to “workplace violence.”
On June 18, Major League Baseball issued the following statement regarding their disciplinary action for Machado as well as a pushback of their own:
“Manny Machado was suspended by MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre, who considered all the facts and circumstances of Machado’s conduct, including precedent, in determining the appropriate level of discipline. Mr. Machado is appealing his suspension and we do not believe it is appropriate for the union representing Major League Umpires to comment on the discipline of players represented by the Players Association, just as it would not be appropriate for the Players Association to comment on disciplinary decisions made with respect to umpires. We also believe it is inappropriate to compare this incident to the extraordinarily serious issue of workplace violence.”
(Source: MLB)
~ Written by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
Also see:
- San Diego Padres sign Manny Machado to 10-year, $300 million contract, largest in MLB history
- The Top 20 most popular player jerseys in the MLB
- Mike Trout and Los Angeles Angels agree to 12-year $426.5 million contract
