Remember Tony C.??

by NG on Jul 27, 2008 2:23 PM EDT

With all the crap of ? throwing 90-100 MPH balls at players intentionally for whatever reason, all I can think of is what happened to Tony C. He basically was killed by such a ball, although nobody ever said the pitch was intentionally thrown at his head. Still, these pitchers today throw 100 miles and hour, and at that speed (and much less), a ball to the head could kill. If such a pitch was thrown intentionally, it is assault with a deadly weapon, and if it kills, it is murder. Now maybe if the criminal authorities in the jurisdiction were to get involved in some of these cases, maybe that would finally stop this crap!

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this may be the wussy way, but

what if they wore face guards?

He who hesitates is tagged out between first and second base.

by BoSox415 on Jul 28, 2008 1:05 PM EDT reply actions

i agree they should wear face guards and about the intentional blow to the head with the 100mph ball i dont think it would be fare to say that i mean how can anyone really prove it was intentional. pinning that on him and charging him with murder could ruin his life and career.

by veece on Jul 29, 2008 1:12 PM EDT reply actions

THAT IS THE POINT!

Anytime an empire with the backing of MLB determines that a pitcher should have been ejected because of such an intentional assault, it should be automatically taking up by the local DA’s office. Then such behavior woud truly end, and good riddens. Yes there is judgement involved, but that is happening now. With such strict rules in place, that judgement woud be even more carefully performed, but this crap between the Sox, Rays, and Yankees with intentional throwing (including at the head) being suggested as happening, must end. There is no place for unnecessary assault in baseball, and the best way to stop it is the same mechanism we use in everyday life. Enforce the law! Throwing at the head can kill, as it did for Tony C. and we have been darn lucky more deaths have not happened. How would you feel if in a retaliation mode a Sox pitcher killed another player??????

by NG on Jul 29, 2008 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions

But i'm not sure if...

The plastic/metal faceguards would hold up against 95-100 MPH fastballs. They do have slight gaps in between bars, with a larger gap at the eye level, and im sure a baseball thrown above 90 could easily bend a bar slightly enough to get at the face.

But then again, unless a player literally freezes as the pitch comes at them, the faceguard would probably be enough to deflect the pitch. Better that than having part of your nose taken off.

He who hesitates is tagged out between first and second base.

by BoSox415 on Jul 29, 2008 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions