On Monday, Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby was suspended 14 games by Major League Baseball for a “loud, obscenity-laced, nose-to-nose exchange” with umpire Doug Eddings underneath Fenway Park after a game with the Red Sox.
The Blue Jays appealed the suspension, but it was upheld on Friday. Jacoby released a statement, which Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star provided on Twitter:“Unfortunately, there was a verbal altercation with the umpiring crew following a tough loss in Boston. Frustrations escalated, leading to an altercation in which I was wrongly accused of contacting an umpire in the runway following our game. I’m in no way going to apologize for what happened and feel that the penalties were very biased, harsh, and unfair. I feel vindicated by the fact that everyone very near to the incident corroborated my actions when interviewed. This is all I am going to say about this issue and I will not answer any questions concerning this incident from this point forward. The game we play isn’t about the coaches or umpires, but about the players that play it.”
Umpires are very rarely disciplined for their conduct with players and coaches, even though they share the ability to escalate or deescalate a conflict. So it’s not surprising that Jacoby got such a harsh punishment and the Eddings crew got nothing.
Heard tonight that many #MLB umpires are privately upset at Brook Jacoby’s refusal to apologize even after 14-game suspension was upheld.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 8, 2015
