Lawrie's Suspension Justified, But What About the Umpire?

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Unless you play fantasy baseball, you probably were unaware of who Brett Lawrie was until he lost his cool Tuesday night. In case you live in a cave or woke up in a roadside ditch, let me briefly recap what happened. Tuesday night's game was in the bottom of the ninth. The Toronto Blue Jays were up to bat trailing the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. Lawrie was batting, and he took a 3-1 pitch that was outside. He began walking to first base, until home plate umpire Bill Miller gave a delayed strike call. A not too pleased Lawrie returned to the batter's box. The full-count pitch was taken by Lawrie because it appeared to be high. Miller called it strike three. An infuriated Lawrie lost his cool and slammed his helmet into the ground near Miller's feet. It bounced up and hit Miller in the leg. Lawrie was immediately ejected from the game. Today, Major League Baseball suspended Lawrie four games and fined him an undisclosed amount. Lawrie did appeal, but nothing is expected to change.

The four-game suspension is a must by MLB. Anytime a player makes contact with an umpire in any way, it must merit a suspension. The length seems appropriate in my opinion. Lawrie apologized after the game and told reporters the helmet took an "unlucky bounce." I believe him when he said he had no intent of injuring Miller. He is only 22 years old and simply reacted immaturely. He has all the talent to be one of the future stars of baseball. I put an emphasis on future. At this point in his career, Lawrie must do a lot of maturing before he can reach that level. Discipline is imperative to success as an athlete both on and off the field. That is something that the youngster must learn. MLB does not want to be represented in this way. It will do all it can to teach Brett Lawrie this lesson the first time.

Now here's the part you may not have considered. There are two guilty parties here. Lawrie is the obvious one, and he has been granted his suspension. The other one is Bill Miller, the home plate umpire, who blew the two calls that caused the whole incident. The 3-1 call was clearly outside, but it is close enough where I will give Miller a break. However, the 3-2 pitch was an egregious blown call that should not be tolerated. There is no possible way that any umpire under unbiased circumstances could call that pitch a ball. Miller was clearly unhappy that Lawrie started walking toward first base following the 3-1 pitch. He decided right there and then that any ball near the plate would be a called third strike. Miller made the ridiculous strike three call and invoked the reaction from Lawrie.

I can hear the objections now. Miller is teaching the young kid a lesson. Miller's human, he simply missed the call. Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels purposely hit young phenom Bryce Harper with a pitch. MLB suspended him five games. Therefore, you can't allow umpires to "teach" players lessons, without suspending them as well. I know Miller is human, but so is Lawrie. Lawrie made a mistake and got the suspension he deserved. Miller makes an egregious error, but warrants no suspension. How can this be? Bill Miller allowed his judgment as an umpire to be impaired when making that strike three call. For that, he must be suspended in my opinion. His inability to control his feelings is what led to the entire incident. Bill Miller owes baseball an apology and deserves a suspension. That would be justice served completely.