Hanley Ramirez apologized to his Florida Marlins teammates before returning to the line-up on Wednesday and playing a key role in a 5-1 victory over the St Louis Cardinals.
One day after lashing out at Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez for benching him for two games for a lack of effort during a loss on Monday, Ramirez recorded three hits to provide a happy ending to an eventful few days.
“It was not my intention to create a distraction,” the 2009 National League batting champion told reporters after a closed-door meeting and apology to his manager and team mates.
“I feel bad that things got to this point; the team and the fans don’t deserve it. I’m going to try to end this matter and focus on playing baseball,” he said.
The controversy began when the shortstop made an error on a fly ball and inadvertently kicked it into the outfield, casually pursuing it as two runs scored in Florida’s 5-1 defeat to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Gonzalez benched the All-Star for the incident leading to Ramirez’s criticism of the manager a day later, claiming that he had never played in the Major Leagues and would not understand.
“We talked and that’s that,” Gonzalez said. “We’re just going to go out and play baseball, have some fun and win some ballgames.”
Meanwhile, combustible outfielder Milton Bradley returned to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday after a two-week absence to receive counseling for anger issues.
The 32-year-old Bradley had been put on a restricted list on May 6 after he lashed out at manager Don Wakamatsu for benching him during a game.
Bradley, who has a history of angry outbursts, then approached the organization for help in dealing with his emotions, although the Mariners would not go into details about what specific treatment he received.
“I needed help, you know, to allow me to get better, focus back on the game that I love and enjoy playing,” Bradley told reporters prior to the Mariners’ 3-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I am not saying I’m cured or whatever you call it, but I am working ever so hard and I am committed to this process,” he said.
Bradley was ordered to receive anger management while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 when he was suspended for five games for slamming a water bottle in the direction of a fan.
Now playing for his eighth team in the last 10 seasons, Bradley went 2-for-4 on his return but is batting just .230 with two home runs this campaign.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set