Ben Love loves Throwing Shade and Manny Machado made it way too easy on a Tuesday with him getting a little physical with an umpire over the weekend during the San Diego Padres series against the Colorado Rockies.
To quote MLB from their statement, Machado was suspended for “aggressively arguing and making contact” with home-plate umpire Bill Welke following a borderline strike call on a 2-2 pitch. Obviously, Machado was upset about the one-game suspension that was levied upon him on Monday, but the MLB’s Umpires Association were pretty peeved about the decision and went to social media, namely on Facebook.
Below is their complete statement on Facebook:
Manny Machado was suspended one game for contact to an umpire during an argument over balls and strikes, while violently throwing his bat against the backstop, with absolutely no regard to anyone’s safety. One game..one single game. What kind of precedent is that setting? It is NOT okay to throw a temper tantrum and physically touch someone of authority, just because you don’t agree. Violence in all workplaces is not tolerated. Period. Offenders are made examples of by being dealt with severely; not just for the good of all the employees, but for the good of the company itself. A person is given and granted a level of protection from abusive behavior in any workplace. A one-game suspension for this type of behavior is a slap in the face of all umpires and a disgrace to the game itself. Physical contact simply cannot be tolerated, and the penalties need to be swift and harsh. What does this teach the MLB’s immense and ongoing influential youth movement trying to attract young fans to the game? Major League Baseball has to always lead by example in all cases of violent behavior, on and off the field. With that being said, the MLBUA is extraordinarily disappointed in Major League Baseball for its disciplinary ‘inaction’ handed down to Manny Machado.
It’s safe to say that the umpires wanted a little more strict of a punishment levied on the Padres star player.
