Speedy Angels infielder Erick Aybar has made quite a name for himself in the Dominican Winter League thus far. He's rocking a .358 batting average and has hit for the cycle.
Of course, the biggest news came in ugly fashion recently, as he was involved in a brawl. This wasn't just your garden variety baseball brawl, where the player charges the mound and everyone gets separated before any real damage is done. Apparently Aybar was dotted with a pitch and charged the mound. What ensued was quite the fracas:
Aybar answered by charging pitcher Julio de Paula with his bat, and the fans responded by pelting players with expletives as well as cups, bottles and a huge plastic trash can. Video of the incident is of poor quality, but it shows several players who cannot be readily identified repeatedly throwing things into the stands.
Also of note, Timo Perez and Ronnie Belliard are being investigated along with Aybar by the league. The Angels have been advised that there is little evidence connecting Aybar to the object-throwing.
That part of the story is relieving, but we again see the cowardice of a player taking a bat to the mound with him in a fight.
One of the great things about baseball is that it's a game which has always policed itself. A player shows up an opposing pitcher, and there's bound to be a retaliatory pitch thrown quite soon. As long as the pitch ends up in the butt or back of the batter, that's baseball. I don't mind the mound-charging, but when you take a bat or throw a helmet it's quite the cowardly act. You can't go hand-to-hand with the pitcher? Take your freaking base. Just ask Robin Ventura for advice on that front.
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Finally, if there isn't enough security to prevent fans from throwing stuff and successfully hitting players with things such as a "huge plastic trash can," maybe you shouldn't be hosting baseball games involving major league players. That's downright absurd.
Erick Aybar Could Be in Trouble for Fight in Dominican Winter League originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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