Yordano Ventura Deserves Big Suspension For Brawl, Not Manny Machado [VIDEO]
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's been a banner year for brawls in baseball so far in 2016. Rougned Odor landed arguably the biggest haymaker in major league history against Jose Bautista, and now the Kansas City Royals' feisty flamethrower Yordano Ventura took one across the jaw from the Orioles' own hot-head Manny Machado in a Tuesday night donnybrook at Camden Yards. Both Machado and Ventura were ejected from the game for their roles in the incident.
Machado will undoubtedly face a suspension for the brawl, which you can watch in the video below. As a result, he could miss the Orioles' upcoming series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park from June 14-16. It could also take days for the punishment process to play out and Machado could appeal whatever suspension comes his way.
Whatever baseball decides to do with Machado,they should dole out a bigger punishment to Ventura. The Royals starter routinely throws in the mid-to-upper-90s, and his hardest-thrown ball Tuesday night happened to be the 99 mph fastball that hit Machado in his back. He's become notorious for going overboard with intentionally throwing at guys and failing to keep his emotions and judgment under control. You can see in the video that he threw at Machado several times before the brawl, which he excused as his gameplan to throw fastballs inside - "one got away," he said through a translator after the game.
This is far from the first time Ventura has caused benches to clear with his antics; Deadspin chronicled the several incidents Ventura had already ignited by the first month of 2015. Based on the tepid postgame reactions of teammates and the Orioles' unabashed support for Machado's decision to charge the mound and slug Ventura in the face, it may be time for the MLB offices to give Ventura his comeuppance for what has become an unenviable "punk" reputation.
Unfortunately for those who were satisfied to see Machado say 'enough is enough' with Ventura, baseball can't let him get away with throwing actual punches. There should be no tolerance for players who lose their cool like that. As entertaining as brawls can be, they would certainly lose their "value" (for lack of a better term) if it started happening all the time due to a lack of repercussions.
However, in this particular instance, Ventura is the one who needs an example to be made of him, not Machado. Brushing a guy back to make him uncomfortable is one thing; repeatedly hitting guys, rearing back with extra velocity to do so, and inciting multiple brawls in such a short span, cannot go without a severe punishment. And it should absolutely be more severe than whatever happens to Machado.
Who do you think should be punished harder for this incident? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
