For all the second chances Milton Bradley has received and blown over the years, it’s hard to feel for the guy when he gets in yet another confrontation. However, his incident Sunday with umpire Mike Winters was bizarre and for once, Bradley might have been the victim.
Bradley will miss the rest of the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was injured when his own manager spun him to the ground while trying to keep him from going after umpire Mike Winters during an eighth-inning confrontation in Sunday’s 7-3 loss to Colorado at Petco Park.
The commissioner’s office said Monday it is investigating whether the volatile Bradley was baited by Winters. The Padres said Winters directed profanities at Bradley right before the blowup.
I realize officiating in any sport is an extremely hard job, especially with today’s athletes being as immature and arrogant as they are. But part of being an official is to not factor in the outcome of a game. The general idea is to call balls and strikes, penalties, fouls and then get the hell out of the way. Yet, NBA official Joey Crawford got personal with Tim Duncan in a game last season and now Winters might have deliberately pushed Bradley’s buttons by allegedly calling him a, “piece of s***”. These types of incidents can’t happen and hopefully Bud the slug Selig doesn’t screw up another judgment call by allowing Winters to get away with making a situation personal with a player.
