Tuesday night saw the season's second extra-innings hit-by-pitch-off, the Indians this time benefitting as the Tigers' David Pauley hit Kosuke Fukudome with the bases loaded to end the game in the 14th. You can watch the video here.
This was the first game of a series with huge implications, too, as Cleveland and Detroit are vying for first place in the AL Central. With the win, Cleveland is now only three games out, with two more games to come in the series.
While there's no ejection actually shown in this clip, it can be pretty safely assumed that the proceedings herein resulted in at least one. The clip features Rod Allen, currently a commentator for the Detroit Tigers' television broadcasts, and a former player for the Tigers as well. At the end of his playing career, Allen spent three seasons in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp, where for the most part he was actually fairly successful. But Allen will always be remembered for one particular incident that took place during a game against the Yokohama Taiyo Whales. After running over the Whales' catcher on a play at the plate earlier in the game, Allen was hit by a pitch by Kazuhiko Daimon, which Allen took to be intentional; judging by Daimon's reaction to what followed, it wasn't, or at least he hadn't thought the consequences through ahead of time. Observe, and enjoy:
Today's Great Ejection is extra special because it's not just an ejection from a game: it's an ejection for LIFE.
Good old José Offerman. Offerman's relationship with baseball was a happy one for a long time. He spent 15 seasons in the Major Leagues, including three and a half with the Red Sox, and even made two All-Star Teams, in 1995 and 1999. He played his last Major League game in 2005.
After this, however, is when the relationship began to sour. And very sour it went. It hit its first major hurdle in 2007, when Offerman was playing for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. On August 14, in a game against the Bridgeport Bluefish, Offerman, after being hit in the calf (the calf) with a pitch, charged the mound wielding bat in hand. The Bluefish pitcher ended up with a broken finger; the catcher, who had come out to protect his pitcher, received a severe concussion. Offerman, after being ejected, was arrested by the Bridgeport police, and was suspended indefinitely from the Atlantic League. He has not played or managed a game in the United States since.
But Offerman was not to be discouraged. He went on to play two final seasons with Triple-A Veracruz of the Mexican League before becoming manager of the Licey Tigers in December of 2008 in his native Dominican Republic. This went well for awhile, too; the Tigers won the league championship in Offerman's first season as manager. But the next season, in a playoff game against the Cibao Giants on January 16, 2010. . . .
To be fair, it's not clear that Offerman actually touches umpire Daniel Rayburn at all here; it's been suggested that Rayburn would do well as a professional wrestler. Really, however, whether he hit him or not hardly matters. Offerman threw a punch at an umpire. Not surprisingly, this earned him a lifetime ban from Dominican baseball.
This incident was likely the last straw in the tenuous relationship Offerman was clinging to with baseball by this point. Now banned from leagues in two countries, it appears the relationship is over.
