David Ortiz is once again displeased with a decision made by an official scorekeeper. The play in question revolves around a ball hit by Ortiz Thursday against the the Twins. He reached base, but it was scored as a fielding error by Joe Mauer instead of an official hit by Ortiz.
MLB scolds David Ortiz for official scorer complaint
David Ortiz is unhappy that he’s had yet another hit taken away by a Fenway scorekeeper, but Major League Baseball isn’t listening anymore.
Jim Rogash
This is the second time Ortiz has been upset by a call in as many months, and MLB now officially wants him to stop complaining about scoring decisions, according to statement released by the league.
“Official scorers have a job to do, and by their very nature, their decisions don’t make everyone happy. But everyone in our game deserves respect. I hope that David will meet that standard going forward, because I don’t share the same views that he expressed,” said Major League Baseball Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations Joe Torre in the statement, which was released on Friday.
Particularly troubling to Torre and the league was Ortiz’s insistence on blaming the official scorer in Boston, first by giving him a thumbs down after the decision, then complaining about him -- and everyone else whose held the position, apparently -- after the game to reporters. “I thought people were supposed to have your back at home, and it never happens, it’s always like that. I’ve been here for more than a decade and the scorekeepers here are always horrible. This is home, man,” said Ortiz in what has become a common refrain from the slugger.
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The league, for their part, was quick and direct with their response to Ortiz, stating:
“Official scorers should never give any benefit of the doubt to the home team. We want their best judgment, based on the rules. We have a process to review the decisions that our scorers make. Even when there are inevitable disagreements, we expect everybody to act professionally and respect the game and the integrity of our scorers.”
While disciplinary action won’t happen this time, given Ortiz’s pattern of behavior and, as Deadspin’s Barry Petchesky puts it, his unwillingness to “pretend he doesn’t care, or at least to complain behind closed doors”, he may have trouble going forward.
Even if, much like last time -- when he complained about a hit that would have broken up a no-hitter by Yu Darvish in May -- or the time before -- when he stormed a 2011 Terry Francona press conference to complain about having a 2-RBI hit scored an error -- the league eventually ends up reversing the decision and giving him the hit.
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