The Oakland Athletics lost to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday despite another stellar outing from Scott Kazmir. There will be a separate article about the game but for now, we’re going to devote even more words to the drama surrounding the game.
In the bottom of the first inning, when Scott Kazmir hit Lorenzo Cain in the foot, both teams were warned and a pair of Royals were ejected from the game. Then, in the eighth inning, Lawrie had to duck out of a high ball which was followed by a 97 mile per hour fastball that whizzed past the back of his head from the mound of Kelvin Herrera.
Lawrie, to his credit, tried to shrug it off but when Herrera pointed at his head, to indicate that he was either aiming at Lawrie’s head or intended to aim there next time, tempers flailed and the once respected Royals fan base lost their minds in the stadium and on Twitter.
Here’s the thing, Roayls fans and A’s fans that may be calling for retribution in June when the Royals come to town, a 100 mile per hour ball to the head can kill a guy. While you’re in your seat cheering at the soap opera playing out on the field, remember that had that pitch hit Lawrie in the face, he’d be in the hospital at best and in the morgue at worst. These are human beings, folks.
In the real world, outside of the ballpark, if you were to pick up a baseball sized rock, point at your head and then throw it at someone else’s head, you’d be in jail. Off of the diamond, that throw is assault with a deadly weapon and, if it hits, battery. On the diamond, it’s a whole different story. Hopefully, Herrera will be getting a call from the Commissioner’s office in the morning for that blatant attempt to hurt a player.
When the Royals come to Oakland in June, you can be sure that the stands will be filled with fans ready to boo every Royals player that takes to the batters box and rightfully so. We are going to come armed with signs and banners and t shirts but we’re not going to see Sean Doolittle take a throw at anyone’s head.
There are the “unwritten” rules of baseball and then there is a temper tantrum. The Royals followed the unwritten rules yesterday when they beaned Lawrie in the side. That’s why he didn’t charge the mound. He knew it was coming, the teams knew it was coming, we all knew it was coming. Today was a temper tantrum. It was childish and dangerous and borderline criminal and for that, guilty parties should be punished.
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If Lawrie, because of the way he’s handled this whole mess, isn’t endearing himself to A’s fans, I don’t know what will. He could have been killed out there today. Am I over stating that? No. Brett Lawrie was inches away from taking a deadly weapon to his face, head or throat. Inches. When a player enters the box, there is a reasonable expectation that he may get hurt in the process but a fastball to your ankle or to your side or to you arm may hurt you, may even take you out of the game for days or weeks, but it’s not likely to kill you. That same ball to the throat? That’s a different story.
I hope and believe that the A’s will have their revenge with some solid baseball playing and that the fans will find a more clever and funny way to show our disdain for this team than advocating serious injury on any of the fans.
May no one ever threaten to throw something 100mph at your skull or at the skull of someone you love. That could easily kill. Bush league.
— Eireann Dolan (@EireannDolan) April 19, 2015