Everett Suspended for Butting Heads with Umpire

[dc sports]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bb/609264

July 20, 2000, 8:21PM -- Associated Press
Everett suspended for 10 games, fined -- Outfielder faults media for his portrayal

BALTIMORE -- A defiant Carl Everett blamed the media for the 10-game suspension and undisclosed fine he received Thursday for twice bumping an umpire last weekend. The suspension of the Boston Red Sox outfielder was announced by Frank Robinson, vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball. The players' union immediately appealed the ruling, and Everett homered Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

He went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts in the opener and 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the nightcap. Everett can continue to play until a hearing is held by Paul Beeston, baseball's chief operating officer. No date was set for the hearing.

Everett has a .317 batting average and leads Boston in homers (26) and RBIs (74). Although television replays clearly showed him making contact with the umpire during last Saturday's game against the New York Mets, Everett said his role in the confrontation was not accurately portrayed. "The whole thing is that the majority of the media tried to make a monster out of a guy," Everett said. "Everyone is quick to judge. I fault the media. ... I would say I didn't do the things people said I did."

Everett became furious when Ronald Kulpa, umpiring at home plate, drew the inside line of the batter's box with his foot, showing where the hitter could stand. The Boston slugger confronted Kulpa, making contact twice, the second time with a bump to the head that sent the umpire staggering. Everett was ejected from the game and continued his tirade. He had to be restrained by teammates and coaches. When he reached the dugout, he tipped over a water cooler and threw a bat.

A night earlier, Mets reliever Dennis Cook was thrown out of the game after hitting Everett with a pitch. Cook stormed toward the plate, indicating Everett's wide-open stance takes him beyond the batter's box lines.

Everett said he spoke with Robinson before the suspension was handed down to give his side of the story. "I talked to him. That's all I can do," Everett said. Now he's got to tell the story all over again. "I could say some things that could ruffle some feathers," he told reporters, "but I'd rather keep that to myself until I state my case."

Asked if he thought the penalty against Everett was excessive, Boston manager Jimy Williams said: "It's not for me to decide. Frank Robinson has a tough job but somebody has to make a decision. He's handled it the best way he can."

The batter's box measures 4 feet-by-6 feet and is outlined in chalk on three sides with the inside line closest to home plate not drawn. Umpires allow six inches off the plate to indicate the inside limits of the box. It was that six-inch area Cook and Kulpa said Everett had violated.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bb/609179

[i]July 20, 2000, 6:22PM -- Last word: Carl Everett

Everyone is quick to judge. I fault the media. ... I would say I didn't do the things people said I did.

Red Sox outfielder Carl Everett upon hearing about his 10-game suspension.

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Stay Cool...

[Rocketman95]

This guy is such an idiot. What do you expect from someone who thinks dinosaurs are a conspiracy against God, but was a child abuser?

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Going for the Rolls Royce!

visit www.swirve.com

[BobFinn*]

So I guess he is saying the media doctored the video tape of the game. hmmmmmm...conspiracy theory. Very interesting

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"Get up, stand up. Stand up for your right"-Bob Marley

[DREAMer]

Roberto Alomar got a FIVE game suspension for spitting in an umpires face.

In my opinion, umpires are there to maintain the integrity of the game by upholding the rules. They should be there to diffuse problems. But, in this case I think the umpire helped to escalate the problem.

Can anyone post the rule as to how a batter's feet must be placed in relation to the batter's box during an at-bat? Because, Harrold Reynolds on ESPN said that as long as Everett's foot was at least partially in the box then he was considered to be within the rules.

Everett should be suspended. The league cannot allow its players to come into physical contact with the umpires, but I feel that based on Alomar's suspension that Everett's 10 game suspension was just slightly too harsh. I feel that the appeal should reduce the suspension to between 5 and 7 games.

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I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.
DREAMer's Rocket Page

[Rocketman95]

DREAMer, I think since the umpire called Alomar a "wetback", the sentence was a little less harsh, even though I think he should have gotten more.

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Going for the Rolls Royce!

visit www.swirve.com