The AAA International League has indefinitly suspended Devil Rays prospect Delon Young for throwing a bat at an umpire in Durham's game against Pawtucket. Young says it was an accident....Yeah right, and Bush is a democrat. Some think he should be suspended for 20 games, others have said 50, but I say suspend him for the rest of the season. What that kid did was just plain wrong. You don't throw a bat at an umpire!! If called out, a 20 year old kid shouldn't even look back at an ump, much less throw a bat at him. Anything less than a full season suspension would send the message that professional athletes are not accountable for their own actions. Does Young realize how many kids saw the video and think it is funny? How many Little League kids may see his behavior and do the same? The kids I coach over in Center City know that if they question an umpire, they are pulled from the game. I have zero tolerance for poor sportsmanship, and my kids know it.
The lesson was learned from Jack Gordon when I was in Little League back in my hometown of Lafayette, California. Jack was an old marine who ran his teams like he was a drill sargeant. If you were on one of Jack's teams, you hustled, you played hard, and you didn't even breathe in the direction of an ump. I did it ONCE, and only ONCE. Man, I asked an ump where a pitch was and good old Jack tore me to shreds, then pulled me from the game. This lesson was very well learned, as later he told me why he did what he did, and the importance of being a good sport. The lesson has always stayed in my mind, and is something I teach to the kids I coach.
On another note, Barry Bonds is set to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. I don't think there should be an asterisk next to his name, there should be a syringe. Bonds is juiced, he knows it and the world knows it. Even though I am a life long Giants fan, I don't want him touching the Babe's or Hank Aaron's record. I want to see Bonds get 600 intentional walks, and I want him to sulk all the way to the guy who juices him up.
Tis all, writer's block is over, now I can get back to work.
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