
If you watched New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman throw a 101 mph fastball at the head of Michael Brosseau, you might have your own opinion on the matter. The Yankees and Rays have been arch enemies this season, throwing intentional pitches at each other and chirping back-and-forth during and after games. Some might say that Chapman’s pitch was intentional, but one former Yankee is almost sure of it.
Former first baseman for the Yankees Mark Teixeira believes it was on purpose. In fact, he thinks the punishment laid down by the MLB was too soft. He believes this issue doesn’t only target the Rays but also the front office, as Commissioner Rob Manfred didn’t take proper action against the Houston Astros players for cheating.
Here is what Teixeira had to say about the Yankees’ closer:
“I’ve been so adamant about let’s make sure that we actually have real punishments when you know that a guy threw at somebody on purpose up high,†Teixeira said Wednesday during an appearance on Michael Kay’s ESPN radio show. “If you punish a player 10, 15, 20 games without pay for hitting somebody … I’m not giving up 10 games of my paycheck to settle a beef with somebody else. But if you suspend me for one start as a starter basically and you back up a start, or a couple games as a reliever and you still get paid, alright I’ll do it. I’ll take that bullet for the team.â€
“Let’s look at the facts here,†Teixeira said. “He didn’t talk to the media afterwards. If I had done that and it wasn’t on purpose … First of all, I don’t stare the guy down after. You say, ‘Hey, I am sorry. It shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t mean it.’ Apologies to Brosseau to the Rays and it’s over with. But that’s not what happened. He hid. One thing that we learned as New York Yankees is we’re accountable after the games and we talk to the press.â€
“I think this kind of gets back to why a lot of people have soured on MLB and the commissioner’s office,†Teixeira said. “You go back to the Astros scandal. There was no rhyme or reason why certain things happened there. The Joe Kelley eight games, that kind of came out of nowhere. What did Boonie get a game? I don’t know. They’re just making stuff up right now.â€