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.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB