Crack of the Bat

By Jim Zellmann

 

Delmon Young Delmon Young (1st pick of the 2003 draft and 2005 Minor League Player of the Year) was suspended indefinitely by the International AAA League after throwing a bat that hit a replacement umpire in the midsection.  Surely everyone has heard the story and many have seen the replay by now.   Most everyone would agree that what Delmon Young did deserves serious consequences.  This just can not be allowed in baseball.  No one can stick up for what he did.   That said…  Another bothersome (to me anyway) thing is the way some people are coming out speaking as if they’ve known Delmon forever and they are claiming he’s always been a huge jerk and a trouble maker.  Now that this has happened, people come out of woodwork claiming he

has been a jerk his entire life and he’s just another spoiled rich kid.  I’ve read stories where people are saying there is a long history of this kind of behavior.  Everyone is mentioning that he bumped an umpire last year.

 

Bumping an umpire does not make someone a jerk.  Many nice guys have bumped umpires in the heat of battle over the years. What happened in this case was much, much worse and can not be swept under a rug.  Delmon has earned the problems he has caused himself.  He’s only lucky that the bat didn’t injure the umpire.

 

I've scouted Delmon at many events during his high school years including when he played for USA Baseball.  He’s been one of the highest profiled young players in history. Not once, did I ever see anything that would make me think he would throw a bat at an umpire.  Maybe, some of the other people now talking had more contact with him than I did and know him even better.  I only know him as a real nice kid who loves to play baseball and one who has a world of talent.

 

Bottom line…. Delmon made a mistake.  A terrible mistake that is going to cost him in many ways.  He deserves whatever happens as a result of his actions the other night.  He was wrong and he could have seriously injured that umpire.  I’m sure he knows he made a huge mistake. 

 

I just don’t understand the need for piling on with fictitious accounts of his past history.  Roger Clemens threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza (could have speared him). Pedro threw old Don Zimmer to the ground (could have broken his old neck),  pitchers throw 95 mph fastballs at hitters, fans throw bottles at players, Delmon tossed (yes tossed) his bat at the umpire (he has extreme bat speed and would have killed the umpire if he really threw it).  Yes a big no-no that he will be punished for.  However, there is no history of Delmon Young being in lots of trouble as he grew up.  It’s not like what happened is something he’s been doing for years as some are claiming.

 

There is a history of Delmon being super competitive.  At one time I set up an extra 60 yard time for runners to be timed on their own.  He ran a 6.75 on his first run and a 6.70 on his second attempt.  What surprised everyone is Delmon continued to run the 60 until he looked completely exhausted, trying to improve his time.  After awhile his 60 times kept getting slower, but he was not ready to give up.  He said he wasn’t going to quit until he ran a faster time.  He didn’t quit, I had to shut him down!

 

I can say that this (the bat throwing) was a terrible incident that has no place in baseball.  I can say that I think Delmon deserves to be punished harshly for this act.  However, unless you really know him very well, how can anyone say he has a long history of this kind of behavior?  Why is anyone comparing him to Albert Belle?  Our experience with Delmon Young just doesn’t show that!  I hate what Delmon Young did,  I love the real Delmon Young. He’s a great kid and his older brother is a great individual as well.

 

Being the first pick seems to bring about additional scrutiny.  There are stories cutting Justin Upton (1^st pick of the 2005 draft) to shreds a while back.  This was when he didn’t sign right away while others did.  Guess, it turns out Justin and his agent knew what they were doing based on him getting the largest signing bonus in baseball history.  The naysayers jumped on him though, saying he’s spoiled and he’s afraid to go out and play.  Justin’s brother BJ (the 2^nd pick of the 2001 draft) is a teammate of Delmon Young.  There are club house reports of BJ reprimanding Delmon about his actions. Of course BJ didn’t like Delmon throwing the bat at an official, his dad Manny is a ACC basketball referee.  The Upton’s are outstanding people, with great parents.  So is Delmon Young and his family.

 

Hopefully he will learn his lesson and return to the game he loves.  As a baseball player, people can love him or hate him, that’s their choice.  I just hope people stick with the truth and what has happened rather than make up things from the past.  I’m sure glad that the umpire was not hurt.  Delmon was very lucky in that respect!  Please excuse me for continuing to be a Delmon Young booster.

This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the author and are not necessarily those of Perfect Game.