Less than 24 hours after Mariners farmhand Jesus Montero threatened scout Butch Baccala with a bat following an altercation involving an ice cream sandwich, Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik issued a statement apologizing for what he called "behavior that is far below what we expect from members of our organization, including bad judgment at nearly every stage of this incident."
Mariners GM apologizes for Jesus Montero ice cream incident with scout
Mariners minor league catcher Jesus Montero and scout Butch Baccala’s ice cream sandwich incident has forced Seattle’s general manager Jack Zduriencik to publicly apologize.
Otto Greule Jr
Especially troubling to Zduriencik was the language used by Montero, for which he explicitly apologized to those in attendance at the game in Boise when the incident occurred:
“I want to apologize on behalf of the Mariners franchise to the Boise Hawks and their fans. We recognize that fans, including children, were impacted by this incident, and the language that was used. We recognize the severity of this incident, and want to assure the Hawks and their fans that it will be dealt with appropriately. In addition, I want to thank Todd Rahr, president and general manager of the Boise Hawks, for his assistance in helping me ascertain what occurred last night.”
According to MiLB.com, Montero had planned to begin playing Friday with the Everett AquaSox, the Mariners' Single-A affiliate for whom he was briefly serving as a first base coach as he finished his injury rehab. However, following this incident, Zduriencik said the catcher is out for the year, according to the Seattle Times Ryan Divish. Both Montero and Baccala were sent to opposite corners, with the former brought back to Seattle and the latter sent home by the team "until further notice."
It remains unclear what exactly the organization can and will do about this, especially regarding Montero, but the team has left the door open for further discipline regarding what they call “this unfortunate incident.”
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