Frankie Francisco deserves mercy (give the chair-throwing pitcher a break!)

Fort Worth Star Telegram ^ | 9/16/2004 | Randy Galloway

[sinkspur]

The Oakland fan with the broken nose is not getting much sympathy from the sports writers here in DFW.

Plus, one of the pitchers likely to be suspended pitched a save against the Athletics, who now lead the Rangers by only four games.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

He should be kicked out of Baseball forever.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I did not see the game but saw snippets on the news. The fan is an idiot but the player is there in a professional capacity and is wrong here. It would be no different if he had been in a bar and hit the woman with a chair.

[sitetest]

Felony conviction.

A little jail time. (Less than a year - it IS a first offense.)

High fines.

Seven-figure punitive damages.

These asses are paid millions and millions and millions of dollars. If they can't take the verbal abuse that comes with the mega-millions, let 'em go do something more valuable for our society.

Like sweep floors.

Or dig ditches.

[thoughtomator]

This guy needs to spend at least 2 years in jail. The last thing this country needs is yet another example of a violent person hurting someone and getting off scot-free.

[Professional Engineer]

He should be kicked out of Baseball forever.

Absolutely, anything less is a sham.

[2banana]

Where the heck was the stadium security? They should have kicked out the loud mouth and his fat wife way before it came to this...

[Cultural Jihad]

More than a game, each player is a role model for the larger community. He should be barred from the league for his crime, and any writer trying to sugarcoat the assault should be ashamed.

[MineralMan]

Sorry. No sympathy for the player. Sure, it's tough getting ragged on by the fans. Too bad, but it's a fact of life for players.

Pitching a metal chair into the crowd just isn't right. What if it had hit some kid? No, it hit the wife of the creepy guy doing some of the yelling and broke her nose.

Assault and battery, plain and simple. Tough luck for the player, but he's the one who threw the chair.

Do I like these fans? No, not much. That's why I don't attend games in person any more. I got tired of the foul language and the beer being spilled on my back. I watch on the tube these days.

[sinkspur]

He won't spend a minute of time in jail. He could, however, lose his work visa and have to go back to the Dominican Republic.

There's another story in Star Telegram that quotes other pitchers from the Tigers and the Red Sox, who say they've almost gotten into it with those same fans. They say they've had beer poured on them and one said "I think one of them peed in a cup, then threw it on us."

So give these cretins a big financial settlement.

The best thing the Rangers can do is win the AL West. That'll shut 'em up.

[sinkspur]

If Albert Belle was not kicked out of baseball, Frankie Francisco won't be.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I agree that some of the spectators are way out of control - but you can see that all the way to little league with parents getting into fights!

[Just another Joe]

Randy Galloway needs to get a brain.

I saw the incident. Frankie was in the wrong all the way.
Punishment? Sure.
A lawsuit? Sure.
The loudmouth fan will come away with a good chunk of Frankie's pay for this year.

Criminal action? Sure.
Frankie oughta get a charge of assualt and battery, pay another big chunk of this years pay, and get probation and community service for a good long while.

If you can't take the ragging by the other teams fans you better get out of the game.

[STFrancis]

Well, Frankie is hoping he gets away with a lesser sentence. If he get's a felony conviction he will get deported automatically and can't set foot in the U.S. anymore. Tough luck for a young kid making a mistake.

Where WAS Security? They had complained several times about those creeps and NOTHING was done. And yes, other teams have complained about it as well.

Shame is that Frankie is a good guy from all reports and because of some creep lost his cool (Which is UNACCEPTABLE).

[SerpentDove]

Oh, I see...a two-tiered system...one set of laws for us regular folks, and another for the rich and famous.

No, thanks.

[sinkspur]

Sure. Players ought to be able to handle it.

But I'll bet these fans are going to be watched like hawks from now on.

Umpires were very close Monday night to declaring a forfeit and giving the game to Texas. There was a lot more going on down there than just a player throwing a chair.

Nobody, a high-paid player included, should have to tolerate profanity and racial slurs.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

The man with the worst reputation in baseball is being forced to retire, to the media’s great delight. There has been a recent proliferation of columns by baseball writers wishing Albert Belle the worst, saying they won’t miss him and that baseball will be better off without him. All of them ignore one small fact: that Albert Belle is perhaps the most misunderstood athlete of his generation.

You sent me to Google. LOL

[freekitty]

Can anyone say "Loose Cannon"?

[jboot]

'Nobody, a high-paid player included, should have to tolerate profanity and racial slurs.'

And thus he has a right to physically assault them? Nonsense. He was one hundred percent in the wrong, and the assualt charges are just, even if the name-callers had been right in his face.