Maybe Mike Winters Was Right

by Tyduffy

Umpire Mike Winters was suspended for the rest of the season by MLB, and rightly so.  The 20 year-veteran was punished for "aiming a profanity" at Padres outfielder Milton Bradley during the Padres-Rockies game on Sept. 23.

Plate umpire Brian Runge told Bradley that other umpires had stated that Bradley had thrown his bat at him after striking out in the fifth inning.  Upon reaching 1st base, Bradley confronted Winters and asked if he was one of the umpires.

In the ensuing argument, Winters "baited" Bradley by calling him a "------- piece of ----."  Bradley then charged the umpire, requiring him to be restrained and wrestled to the ground by Padres' manager Bud Black.  While being restrained by Black, Bradley tore his ACL and will miss a minimum of six months.

Winters obviously deserved to be suspended, potentially even fired for what happened.  But how does this justify Bradley's actions at all?  Just because someone calls you a name (even an uncouth one) does not mean you charge him like a bloodlusted orc.

Bradley was unintentionally honest in his assessment of the situation, when he said, "I didn't do nothing wrong."  He did do something wrong.  He behaved like an absolute jackass.  If the fact that you are responsible for your own actions can be comprehended by a 3 year-old, it should be no problem for a 30 year-old baseball player.