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August 18, 2007 at 12:48:52

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Offerman Bat Attack Reaction Misses Important Perspective

by Steven Leser Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

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I had been contemplating how to explain my reaction to the Offerman bat attack when Jeff Passan came out with his excellent article today in Yahoo! Sports “Accidental Villain” about the 1967 accidental beaning of Tony Conigliaro by Jack Hamilton. The catastrophic effects of this beaning and other beanings are being completely ignored in the aftermath of the Offerman mess.

A major league pitcher, the vast majority of which are capable of throwing a baseball at 90+ Mph, who throws at a batter is guilty of nothing less than assault with a deadly weapon and/or attempted murder. Baseball writers and fans have been so conditioned to accept the act of a pitcher throwing at a batter as an acceptable part of the game that they have been completely sanitized to what that really means. The writers of the website “The Baseball Page” know exactly what that means. They have a page called “The Unofficial History of the Beanball” that lists several major league deaths and skull fractures resulting from intentional beanballs

Despite this, there is this immense self righteous outcry resulting from how Jose Offerman reacted to a pitcher who tried to bean him. In case you are hearing this for the first time, in an Atlantic League game on Tuesday August 14th, Offerman reacted by charging the mound, bat in hand, and hit the pitcher with a bat. In the course of doing so, he hit the catcher in the head unintentionally with his backswing. The catcher sustained a concussion and the pitcher a broken finger. Both are expected to completely recover. Offerman was arrested and taken from the scene in handcuffs.

If we are going to react this way to Offerman, shouldn’t we react similarly to pitchers who throw at batters? Parents have been reacting to the Offerman incident saying that this might influence kids to charge the mound with bats. Where have parents been with regards to the beanball? There are dozens of cases of pitchers in little league throwing at other kids. To cite one, this article refers to an incident where a coach had a child throw at another child twice to keep the child out of a future game.

People are calling for Offerman to be banned from baseball for life. Before we even consider banning someone for reacting to a beaning or an attempted beaning, shouldn’t we ban those pitchers who throw at batters? It is hard for me to be overly upset to a batter’s reaction to an act that could cost them their lives. The pitcher in question said he couldn’t understand the reaction given that he threw at Offerman’s thigh and not his head. I don’t think that is a good excuse.

The act that should be garnering the universal condemnation is the beaning that ignited this whole episode. Most bench clearing brawls in baseball are caused by one or more beanings. There are a long list of players who have had horrible injuries and their careers shortened by a beaning. Offerman should be given a one week suspension and baseball should enact rules that call for a minimum of a one year suspension to any pitcher who throws at a batter and the rule should provide for a permanent expulsion if the incident is particularly egregious.

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8 comments

Baseball fan
Sheryl RBaseball fan

You weren't there

In case you weren't aware, here is the definition of the word Bean, as used in context of your article: beaned, bean·ing, beans Slang

To hit (another) on the head with a thrown object, especially a pitched baseball. (source: the freedictionary.com)

The only person who was hit in the head Tuesday night in Bridgeport was the catcher, John Nathans.

Jose Offerman was not "beaned". He was hit in the leg with an off speed slider thrown low and inside, the same pitch that was thrown for the first strike in the at bat moments before. And I know this, not because I've been reading about it or looking at photos of it. I know this because I was there. I watched it happen. The first pitch that was thrown in the first inning was a high fast ball, which Offerman knocked out of the park for the first run of the game. What pitcher with 12 years of professional experience including 3 years in the Majors, wouldn't throw inside on that guy's next at bat? It was a low slider and it got away from him. Period. End of story.

Look at Beech's line in the box score: He faced 10 batters, gave up 4 runs, 2 of them earned, on 3 hits. He threw 35 pitches. The stats say that 22 of those were strikes, but I was there. And I know that most of those 22 strikes were not called strikes or swung on and missed strikes. They were foul balls with less than 2 outs. He only struck out 1 of the 10 batters he faced. Clearly, this pitcher didn't have his stuff that night, one pitch got away from him.

Offerman was NOT beaned, and to use the word bean to describe a batter getting accidentally hit in the leg is inflammatory and inaccurate.

by Sheryl R (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 10:12:05 PM

Steven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.

Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of t...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Steven LeserSteven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations.

Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of t...

to see more of bio, click on member name

Oh, please

You are wrong on so many counts. You say "professional ballplayers dont throw inside after someone hits a home run?!?!?!"

It is well known in baseball that many pitchers and teams will attempt to hit you on the next at bat after you hit a home run. It is one of those "Unwritten rules" as David Steele of the Baltimore Sun says so well here. It happens so often that most people dont even think about it when it happens. Steele also mentions that the consensus of those at the game was that the pitcher obviously attempted to hit Offerman.

I discovered Steele's article after I wrote mine and it is amazing on how many points we agree. Like on the fact that pitchers who do this are thugs and cowards and that with the general reaction to what Offerman did, we are protecting the right of thugs and cowards to assault someone and have no ill effects from it.

I do not accept that and never will.

by Steven Leser (228 articles, 49 quicklinks, 34 diaries, 1647 comments) on Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 10:58:42 AM

And furthermore...

to attempt to use the "Official slang" definition of the word "beaning" or "beanball" to minimize the act of a professional pitcher throwing a baseball at around 90Mph at any part of a human being's body is completely missing the point.

by Steven Leser (228 articles, 49 quicklinks, 34 diaries, 1647 comments) on Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 11:02:35 AM

Don'pigeon hole me or sterotype me
pratliff94Don'pigeon hole me or sterotype me

Steve,

You are absolutely wrong on this subject in almost every argument you make in your article and your two refutations. You are either not a serious baseball fan or have just kept up with it as a sometime enjoyment. The comment is exactly correct. A "bean ball" is a pitch intentionally thown at the head; I do not know the history of the pitcher, but I do know Offerman's history of a promising rookie with the Dodgers who never realized his potential.

The umpires are there to make decisions as to whether it was an intentional pitch and would have immediately thrown the pitcher out of the game. If it was an pitch at the head, some of the things the umpires take into consideration: type of pitch such as fast ball or off speed; the pitcher's history as being or not being a "head hunter." If a pitcher gets a history of hurting people, he can be banned from the playing in the league.

The inside pitch and the brush back are a part of the game. If you take the inside of the plate away from the pitcher, you destroy the game and might as well let him pitch underhanded behind a batting cage. Most of the great pitchers were not "head hunters," but if you "dug in" and leaned on the plate you had better be ready to get it high and tight, right under the chin. This was true of Koufax, Drysdale, Gibson, Ryan, Ford, and on and on the list goes.

When you step on a basefall field playing the infield or batting, you are going to get hurt at sometime with a ball. Sometimes those injuries are career ending such as the tragic story of Herb Score and Gil McDougal. Conigliario was no better a batter than the young Score was a pitcher, and Hamilton's pitched ball was no more intentional than the batted ball of McDougal's bat that ended Score's career, and the fans of Boston have no right to be anymore upset with Hamilton than the fans of Cleveland have to be upset with McDougal. I am amazed that more batters are not hit and seriously hurt than there are. On the major league level they take these chances willingly, but end up being compensated pretty darn well for their chance taking.

Offerman is not the only Dodger who was involved in the use of a bat on someone's head. Do you remember Juan Marichal pitching against the Dodgers? Johnny Roseboro said something to Marichal when Marichal was batting; Marichal turn around and slammed the bat on top of Roseboro's skull. Later when the Dodgers and the Giants were playing with Marichal and Drysdale pitching, Marichal did everything he could to skip the game because he knew Drysdale would be "head hunting" for what he did to hs catcher. Retaliation is also a part of the game.

The brush back and the inside pitch is part of the game, always has been and always will be if we call it baseball.

I usually agree with you, but not this time.

by pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 969 comments) on Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 11:46:06 PM

Young retired yank of 59 living in the highlands o Scotland. Been out of the old country for 20 some years now. I'm with the Dali Lama, kindness is the only thing that will work. LOVE cycling on or off road. My wife is a wonderful girl from Manchester England.We're haven fun.
davyYoung retired yank of 59 living in the highlands o Scotland. Been out of the old country for 20 some years now. I'm with the Dali Lama, kindness is the only thing that will work. LOVE cycling on or off road. My wife is a wonderful girl from Manchester England.We're haven fun.

Beaning and Bashing

Lots of beaning and bashing going on the "the old country". If it's not sports it's people beaning each other with opinions. I live a long way from America but it sounds like an angry place these days, and I have a feeling it's only going to get angrier. Once AGAIN, we will learn the hard way, anger simply doesn't work. Over and over and over and over . . .

by davy (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 240 comments) on Monday, August 20, 2007 at 3:53:35 AM

I'm a 30 year old elementary school teacher. I have 2 passions. The first one is helping kids to be their best -- which means enrichment of areas of strength and improvement of areas of need. I know it's a cliche, but I hope that I can make a difference in the life of a child (or better yet, of children). My other passion is my family. I am single and have no children of my own, but I adore my little nephews and their parents and grandpar...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Naomi WeinschelI'm a 30 year old elementary school teacher. I have 2 passions. The first one is helping kids to be their best -- which means enrichment of areas of strength and improvement of areas of need. I know it's a cliche, but I hope that I can make a difference in the life of a child (or better yet, of children). My other passion is my family. I am single and have no children of my own, but I adore my little nephews and their parents and grandpar...

to see more of bio, click on member name

The (false) allegation that Steve isn't a real baseball fan

I have been to a baseball game with Steve, and I completely disagree with the allegation that he isn't a real baseball fan. First of all, he's an avid NY Yankees fan and has been since he was very young. Secondly, he knows the insides and outsides of the game better than most fans who I know. So if you want to say that he's not a real fan, than maybe you are the one who isn't a "real" fan. And besides, what difference does it make? He wrote an excellent article about an issue in baseball that most people don't care to research. I say that his article alone proves that he's a real fan. How could he write an article like this one if he wasn't??

by Naomi Weinschel (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Monday, August 20, 2007 at 1:22:37 PM

Thanks nweinschal, now prat...

I will not argue with you as to the history of baseball. I know all of what you say is true and spoke about it in my article. The suggestion I made is that it is time for a significant paradigm shift with regards to the acceptability of throwing at batters.

It is not necessary to throw at batters for the game to be enjoyable or viable. To suggest that baseball needs that in order to be a likeable game is pretty cynical and is itself a nasty slap at the game in general.

by Steven Leser (228 articles, 49 quicklinks, 34 diaries, 1647 comments) on Monday, August 20, 2007 at 5:54:27 PM

Don'pigeon hole me or sterotype me
pratliff94Don'pigeon hole me or sterotype me

Steve,

I see your problem. You are a Yankee fan. Don't you know being a baseball fan and a Yankee fan are two entirely different things. I was a Yankee fan beginning when when I was eleven years old. I had two favorite team the Dogers and the Yankess and was in turmoil in most fifty world series as to whom I would root far. I could say Campy was the greatest catcher one day, and Yogi was the next day; I could argue who was the best center fielder, the Mick or the Duke; who was the best third baseman, MacDougal or Black Jackie; who was the best shortstop, Rizzuto or Pee Wee; I was not sure who was the best rigth fielder, but I knew it had to either be Bauer or Furillo; was Erskine better than Ford, or Newcomb better than Larson; but one think I knew the pitcher owned the plate and the batter whether it was the Duke or the Mick was just a mere guest, and had better be nice.

Steve, only one person has ever been killed by a pitched ball in professional baseball; a man named Chapman. It upset the pitcher so much he soon retired from the game if I remember correctly. It happened around 1910 and I was only thirty years old. Hard to remember these days.

Gibson and Drydale were famous for the brush back, were basically power pitchers, but no one ever accused either of being dirty players that I know of.

I don't get mad over baseball. It is a game and not life. A player knows his chances when he steps on the mound and the box.

But let us compare American Baseball with riots every where this so called "football" is played. How many hundreds and hundreds have been attacked again and again over a stupid game, and how many killed in these thug riots? It does not make a difference if it is soccer ("football") in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, or South America. Until you solve that little angry violence of killing people over a stupid game, you do not have much right to talk about our anger over baseball.

Steve, has every right to be wrong. We give him that privlege and still respect him and honor him for his writings. He is much better at politics than he is at baseball. Good grief! A Yankee fan!

by pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 969 comments) on Monday, August 20, 2007 at 10:28:32 PM