Domestic abuse in the MLB.

[Vega]

The NFL has gotten quite a lot of attention for its handling of domestic abuse cases this year involving Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, and Ray McDonald, but there have been reported instances of domestic abuse by MLB players as well, so I decided to try to document those I can think of and the teams/GMs responsible for keeping the abusers around.

Brett Myers: Punched wife in the face in 2006. Pat Gillick GM at the time. Did not do anything. Ruben Amaro Jr. kept Myers around as well. Ed Wade of the Astros signed Myers to a one year deal in 2010 and then extended him two more years. Jeff Luhnow dealt Myers to the White Sox, whose GM was Kenny Williams. Chris Antonetti of the Indians then signed Myers to a one year deal in 2013.

Everth Cabrera: Accused of punching his wife and slamming her head into a wall in 2012. Josh Byrnes kept him around and thus far, so has AJ Preller.

Francisco Rodriguez: Attacked his girlfriend's father in 2010. Partner abuse occurred in 2012 when he beat and kicked girlfriend.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/former-brewers-pitcher-charged-with-domestic-violence-uv7f0b8-176828861.html

No expert, but her later denying that he caused the injuries and saying that it was her fault sounds like something someone who has been repeatedly abused would say. Not taking the 2010 incident into account, Doug Melvin signed him in 2013, Dan Duquette of Baltimore traded for him, and then Melvin signed him again this year.

Josh Lueke: Raped a woman in 2008 while in the minors with Texas. Jon Daniels kept him around. Seattle acquired him in the Cliff Lee deal in 2011, but as you guys probably remember, there was quite a controversy over whether Jack Z knew about Lueke's past or not. Then-pitching coach for the Mariners Rick Adair claimed that he told Jack Z about Lueke and that Jon Daniels made an offer to take Lueke back after the trade. Seattle traded Lueke to Andrew Friedman's Rays the following offseason and Rays management and local reporters defended him, as seen here.

http://deadspin.com/josh-lueke-is-a-rapist-pass-it-on-1566010458

[GburgNatsFan]

We have our own little issue with Steven Sousa, no? Not domestic violence per se.

Guaranteed salaries. That's a big difference between the NFL and the MLB. It's not right, but it's real.

The NFL has gotten quite a lot of attention for its handling of domestic abuse cases this year involving Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, and Ray McDonald, but there have been reported instances of domestic abuse by MLB players as well, so I decided to try to document those I can think of and the teams/GMs responsible for keeping the abusers around.

Brett Myers: Punched wife in the face in 2006. Pat Gillick GM at the time. Did not do anything. Ruben Amaro Jr. kept Myers around as well. Ed Wade of the Astros signed Myers to a one year deal in 2010 and then extended him two more years. Jeff Luhnow dealt Myers to the White Sox, whose GM was Kenny Williams. Chris Antonetti of the Indians then signed Myers to a one year deal in 2013.

Everth Cabrera: Accused of punching his wife and slamming her head into a wall in 2012. Josh Byrnes kept him around and thus far, so has AJ Preller.

Francisco Rodriguez: Attacked his girlfriend's father in 2010. Partner abuse occurred in 2012 when he beat and kicked girlfriend.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/former-brewers-pitcher-charged-with-domestic-violence-uv7f0b8-176828861.html

No expert, but her later denying that he caused the injuries and saying that it was her fault sounds like something someone who has been repeatedly abused would say. Not taking the 2010 incident into account, Doug Melvin signed him in 2013, Dan Duquette of Baltimore traded for him, and then Melvin signed him again this year.

Josh Lueke: Raped a woman in 2008 while in the minors with Texas. Jon Daniels kept him around. Seattle acquired him in the Cliff Lee deal in 2011, but as you guys probably remember, there was quite a controversy over whether Jack Z knew about Lueke's past or not. Then-pitching coach for the Mariners Rick Adair claimed that he told Jack Z about Lueke and that Jon Daniels made an offer to take Lueke back after the trade. Seattle traded Lueke to Andrew Friedman's Rays the following offseason and Rays management and local reporters defended him, as seen here.

http://deadspin.com/josh-lueke-is-a-rapist-pass-it-on-1566010458

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If you want to dig up history, Wil Cordero.  He was run out of Boston for an incident, then landed back with the Expos.

IIRC - Myers was at least arrested and had a short suspension.  While Philly may have handled it wrong, at some point, time had passed without reoccurence so other teams maybe are less offensive.

From the wiki - sounds like it was an arrest, short suspension, and then a dismissal at the pre-trial phae when the wife asked for no prosecution:

On June 23, 2006, Myers was arrested and charged with assault after witnesses saw him punching his wife Kim Myers on a downtown Boston street after an argument.[27] The Phillies received criticism from some media members and women's organizations for not benching Myers.[28] Myers took a short leave of absence from the team.[7] During a pre-trial hearing on October 5, 2006, Kim Myers indicated that she did not want her husband prosecuted, and despite the prosecutor's insistence of filing charges, the case was dismissed.

[tomterp]

Don't forget Bobby Cox.

And here's an article in SB Nation to the point: 




By Mike Bates, Jul 28 2014
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2014/7/28/5936835/ray-rice-chuck-knoblauch-minnesota-twins-mlb-domestic-abuse-violence

MLB's record on domestic violence worse than NFL's

If talking about Ray Rice's two-game suspension from the NFL for knocking his fiancée unconscious wore you out on Thursday, you might not have noticed that former Twins and Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch also was arrested for domestic violence. According to a Houston television station, Knoblauch hit his ex-wife last week, the second time he's done this to one of his former spouses. He's currently out on bond.
 
The Minnesota Twins, who had been planning to induct the former AL Rookie of the Year and four-time world champion into their team hall of fame in August, immediately canceled the ceremony and the induction. They apparently understand how inappropriate it is to heap praise and honor on a piece of garbage so low that he would abuse his (former) spouse, or any woman. It's rare to see a team take bold action in response to allegations like these, as well as a reminder that Major League Baseball has a long history of completely and totally ignoring this problem at the commissioner level, and very often at the team level as well.

etc.

[comish4lif]

Regarding the domestic abuse issue - I think what Ray Rice's case did was bring all of this out into the open. I think it is irrelevant what MLB (or the NBA, NHL, NFL) did in the past.

Going forward, what are the leagues going to do the next time this happens? MLB needs to get out in front of this. If I was Rob Manfred, I would put together a tough policy with teeth (suspensions, fines, the ability to cancel the rest of a contract, etc). Then hand it over to the Players' Association for their review. Not for the players to take, renegotiate and weaken, but just for them to know what is in it. Ask the Players if they want to be on the press conference when the policy is announced or would they prefer to oppose the policy and penalties and be seen as supporting those who commit domestic abuse.

This is what MLB should have done with PEDs. MLB and the Players Association should have protected the majority of the players and not tried to protect a flawed minority.

Edit: I don't want it to seem like I am soft on Brett Myers et al, it's just we cannot do anything about past crimes. But MLB can make sure that they are ready to handle it the right way when it happens again.

[Vega]

We have our own little issue with Steven Sousa, no? Not domestic violence per se.

Guaranteed salaries. That's a big difference between the NFL and the MLB. It's not right, but it's real.

Really? I haven't heard of that. I remember Corey Brown's "issue," but I was unaware of Souza having done anything.

[HalfSmokes]

http://www.syracuse.com/chiefs/index.ssf/2014/05/syracuse_chiefs_outfielder_steven_souza_jr_finds_indentity_outside_of_playing_ba.html

unless there's more, he doesn't seem like a criminal

[GburgNatsFan]

I thought he was involved in something at a younger age, but I could be wrong.

http://www.syracuse.com/chiefs/index.ssf/2014/05/syracuse_chiefs_outfielder_steven_souza_jr_finds_indentity_outside_of_playing_ba.html

unless there's more, he doesn't seem like a criminal

[Vega]

I thought he was involved in something at a younger age, but I could be wrong.

You may be thinking of Corey Brown and his friends gangbanging a drunk fourteen year-old.

[GburgNatsFan]

Yep.

You may be thinking of Corey Brown and his friends gangbanging a drunk fourteen year-old.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Why do Nats fans always seem to forget this?  Hmmm, I wonder...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2449289

[HalfSmokes]

because no one cares about Dimitri Young anymore? If they retire his number, que the outrage, until then...

[KnorrForYourMoney]

because no one cares about Dimitri Young anymore? If they retire his number, que the outrage, until then...

But Josh Lueke and Everth Cabrera are so relevant?

[HalfSmokes]

But Josh Lueke and Everth Cabrera are so relevant?

they did both actually play in 2014