Tuesday, June 19, 2007

MLB Suspensions

From ESPN.com:
Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee and Padres pitcher Chris Young were suspended five games each and fined undisclosed amounts on Monday for their Saturday fight which set off a a benches-clearing skirmish between the teams at Wrigley Field.
So Young throws one high and tight, Lee doesn't like it, and they each throw a punch at each other, both missing. And they both get suspended five games. Sounds fair, huh? I don't think so. Assuming they're "equally guilty" (which is debatable), 5 games each is not equal punishment. The Cubs will be without Lee, their everyday first baseman, not to mention one of the best hitters in the game, for 5 games (pending a possible appeal). But Chris Young is a starting pitcher, not an everyday position player. That means he pitches once every 5 days/games. So basically, his suspension means he gets an extra day off between starts. If the league really wanted to suspend him for 5 starts, it would have to suspend him for 29 games/days.

2 comments:

Tim Ellsworth said...

I agree that there's some inequality in suspensions between a position player and a pitcher. But in this case, I think Lee was by far the more guilty party. His suspension should be heavier than Young's.

Anonymous said...

It's all my fault.

Steve Bartman