Posted on 08/15/2007 2:08:08 PM PDT by texan75010
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - Former major league All-Star Jose Offerman was charged with two counts of second-degree assault after hitting an opposing team's pitcher and catcher with his bat during an independent minor league game. Offerman posted $10,000 bond and was due in Bridgeport Superior Court on Aug. 23, court officials said Wednesday.
I seem to remember how well Offerman hit when he was in the majors... he probably didn’t do much damage to the opposing pitcher and catcher that he swung at.
Yes, lets lock up all of the pitchers as well.
That will solve the problem of anyone wielding a bat and clubbing someone with it once and for all.
And don’t forget Little League.
. . . the first two hit night he has had in his career.
I've fallen and I can't get up!
Actual photo.
Offerman was hit on the second pitch, with a slider, and was hit on his calf. If a pitcher wants to hit you, he will do it on the first pitch, with a fastball, and aim for your back or head.
What? Without making an error?
Proving one is easy. Proving the other is hard.
Perhaps because intent is evident in one case and the other could easily have been an accident? Even if the pitch had been deliberate, Offerman had no justification to attack with the bat. Unless the pitcher had picked up the ball and was ready to throw it again, the immediate threat is over and Offerman has no self-defense grounds.
I don't know what the exact charge is but I would guess simple assault. If so, Offerman should consider himself lucky. He could be charged with more serious types of assault: assault to inflict great bodily harm, assault with a deadly weapon.
Why do you make a statement that presumes the pitcher purposely tried to hit Offerman ON THE CALF! Being beaned in baseball is a cheap sucker punch move by pitchers but this incident shows no tell-tale signs of an intentional beaning.
I seem to remember how well Offerman hit when he was in the majors... he probably didn’t do much damage to the opposing pitcher and catcher that he swung at.
Did you read the story? The pitcher has a broken finger (could have been alot worse) and the catcher has a concussion due to Offerman's second swing at the pitcher that he happened to get in the way of. The catcher could be out for the rest of the season.
I know this is a minor league game and Offerman may be a player you like but what makes you folks so quick to presume guilt on the one hand and no harm done on the other. This is completely and utterly unacceptable and there shouldn't be excuses made for Offerman. Geez!
Are you serious? The pitcher threw a slider on the first pitch for a strike. He threw a slider on the second pitch that broke a little too hard to the inside, striking Offerman in the calf. When a pitcher throws at a batter, he's going to aim for center mass. He's not going to aim for the head. He's not going to aim for the legs. He's going to aim for mid to lower back. An intentionall bean-ball pitch will ALWAYS be a fastball. Retaliation is one thing, but for a professional baseball player to charge the mound swing a bat at a pitcher is borderline attempted murder. How can you defend that?
Offerman needs to be drug tested. "Roid rage" comes to mind....
This is reminiscent of Juan Marichal going after Johnny Roseboro many years ago with a bat, he hit him on the head if I remember correctly.
We don’t know the first strike wasn’t aimed at the batter and the pitcher just missed his spot. If its obvious the ump will throw him out. A batter knows when a pitcher is trying to throw at him. Besides, Offerman wasn’t trynig to hit anyone he was just trying to brush the pitcher back off the mound and the catcher just got in the way deflecting the bat into the pitcher. ;)
Very well said...my friend.
Uhhhh...see my post above. You obviously didn't read the article-to say the least-otherwise you would know that Offerman was arrested for second degree assault.
The "brush the pitcher back off the mound" comment I have no idea where you got that from but at least you acknowledge that Offerman charged the mound BAT IN HAND which is a huge, huge no-no.
Again if you would actually read the article then you would realize that your "...the catcher just got in the way deflecting the bat into the pitcher" was actually a case of taking a SECOND SWING at the pitcher and tagging the catcher in the head in the process, resulting in a serious, possibly season-ending, concussion.
Geez!!!!
Was that post supposed to be sarcastic? I’m hoping that’s what the ;) was for. A professional baseball pitcher doesn’t throw a strike when aiming for a batter. He might throw behind the batter, or perhaps a bit inside, but not over the plate. Even if the first pitch was a miss, the second pitch hit him in the calf. It’s not like he was aiming at Offerman’s head.
The only thing that justifies a batter charging the mound with a bat is the pitcher pulling a gun. I’m still shocked that Offerman wasn’t charged with attempted murder. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the charges upgraded. A former MLB all-star wielding a bat as a weapon is akin to a Ninja wielding a throwing star.
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