Time To Rethink Pitcher Punishments
There are weak fines and week suspensions.
And then there’s Josh Beckett.
With the punishments finalized from the Beckett-Bobby Abreu incident, I think this is a prime opportunity to re-evaluate Major League Baseball’s approach to punishing starting pitchers for various incidents — including intentionally throwing at a batter’s head.
That was the case last Sunday in Anaheim.
Major League Baseball’s initial disciplinary actions included a six-game suspension for Becket and a one-game suspension for Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. However, it was announced Sunday that Becket’s suspension was reduced to five games, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona has since informed the world that Beckett will now not have to miss his turn in the starting rotation.
To briefly recap what happened: Abreu was granted a time out by the home plate umpire because Beckett was taking a nap on the pitcher’s mound instead of delivering the next pitch within a reasonable length of time. Then Abreu was almost hit in the head by a pitched ball because, for some reason, Beckett was completing his pitching motion even after time was granted to Abreu.
No one should blame Beckett for completing his pitching motion — not doing so would risk injury — but the fact that the pitched sailed within arm’s length of Abreu’s head is definitely something Beckett should be blamed for. One can only speculate if Beckett’s intentions on the 1-2 pitch were to throw Abreu high and tight when he began his delivery or to buzz one near Abreu’s head out of disgust… Either way, despite completing his normal delivery, Beckett certainly did not have to throw the ball at Abreu’s head, despite his intentions.
Understandably, Abreu took exception to bean ball. While he jawed at Beckett from home plate, it was Beckett who continued to mouth at Abreu and approach home plate to clear the benches.
In spite of the incident, the umpiring crew obviously did not feel Abreu’s actions, nor Beckett’s for that matter, were worthy of an ejection from the game. It has been widely speculated that Beckett did intend to “buzz” Abreu in retaliation for calling time, and that the umpiring crew believed the action did warrant an ejection; but they didn’t want to remove a starting pitcher in just the first inning. Tell me if you believe what crew chief Cowboy Joe West said after the game:
“Do we believe he threw it at Abreu? No. Would we have warned him had both benches not emptied? Probably not.”
Whatever side of the argument one is on, my issue is with the appropriateness of suspensions. With respect to Bobby Abreu, I am in agreement with a non-suspension.
Abreu did not approach Beckett and never struck a Red Sox player during the brawl. He had every right to take exception to the pitch by Beckett and give Beckett a piece of his mind. If Abreu said anything worthy of suspension by the League, it would have caused an ejection on the spot by the umpires. The only thing Abreu was guilty of in this incident is being the batter.
My beef is with the suspension for the Boston pitcher and, on a larger level, suspensions for all starting pitchers.
The problem with punishing starting pitchers is that they only pitch once every five games. A starting pitcher can be suspended for four games and not miss a single game while a normal position player will have to miss four games, if suspended for that length of time. If the League is going to punish a starting pitcher by suspension, there should be a fair punishment — one that’s relative to position players.
In the case of Beckett, he was suspended initially for six games, a suspension which would have kept him from missing his turn in the rotation and significantly hurt his team. Instead, with a five-game suspension, Beckett will simply swap positions with John Lester, who will instead start Friday against the rival Yankees (with Beckett pitching Saturday).
Presto! In spite of being suspended for five games, Beckett will not miss his turn in Boston’s starting rotation.
This is completely bogus. Regardless of one’s opinion on the severity of what Beckett did, Major League Baseball needs to get it together when suspending starting pitchers. If the League deems a starter should be suspended, actually make him miss a game or two!
Baseball is still a primarily a pitcher’s game, and a starting pitcher is ultimately the most important player on the field during the game and can set the tone for an entire game. This shouldn’t be an excuse to gloss over punishing a starting pitcher.
In Football, the quarterback is the most important position in the game, but signal-callers can be suspended when appropriate. In basketball, everything begins with the point guard, and yet point guards can foul out of games and be suspended.
Hockey is the only major sport in this country besides baseball that effectively grants certain players special treatment. In spite of the rule changes a few years ago to increase scoring, hockey — according to Dr. Sportsfan — is still a goalie-dominated game. While goalies can be suspended by the NHL, they do not, however, serve penalty minutes for any infractions on the ice.
For the record, I don’t like this either. Why should the goalie get special treatment and not have to spend time in the penalty box?
(Irrelevant to my argument, but as a point of potential conversation, I think it would be cool to see a goalie in the penalty box with all the gear on. Plus, the backup goalie will get some ice time.)
Because a hockey goalie is so important to his team, he should have to be extra cautious not to break the rules and to stay on the ice. The same should go for a starting pitcher in baseball. My solution would be to have a minimum suspension of eight games for a starting pitcher. This would be enough time to really screw up a team’s rotation and ensure that a team would require an emergency starter to fill the void. It’s better than the alternative, as is the case of Josh Beckett. If you are going to punish a player in any sport, actually punish him and not let him off the hook because he is special player (hockey goalie).
Especially if he only plays every five games anyway.
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