April 22, 2005: Sheffield
Plays the Victim
By Ahchie
The
BMTG was not going to comment on the minor incident that happened in Fenway
Park between ‘roid abuser Gary Sheffield and a fan in the stands. But
the story just won’t go away and all of the undue attention has prompted
the BMTG to offer its take on a situation that has been misunderstood and
misreported.
Sheffield is being commended for his actions, which just amounts to another example of congratulating someone for behaving the way they are supposed to behave in the first place. The great and wise buffoon that is known as Commissioner Selig was “pleased that Gary Sheffield showed restraint in not overreacting to the improper and clearly aggressive action of the fan in question.” First, he is commended for not acting like Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson. Well, isn’t he supposed to not act like Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson? Aren’t we all supposed to show restraint when confronted with a situation like that? And second, the action of the fan in question was not so obviously aggressive. Upon further review it should be clear that the fan did not have malicious intent. It should also be clear after further review that Sheffield did not display nearly as much restraint as is portrayed.
At the time it happened, Sheffield thought the fan was taking a swing at him, so his initial reaction is slightly understandable. Still, as understandable as his anger may have been when he thought someone was trying to punch him, he did retaliate by purposely attempting to either shove or throw a punch at the fan. And that swing of his arms was not to just clear space so he could throw the ball back to the infield. That swing was aimed at his perceived attacker. That is not self-defense and it is certainly not “restraint.”
After the game and in the days that followed, having a chance to review what happened and think about the fan’s probable intentions, it would seem that Sheffield would realize that the guy was not trying to hit him in the face. Instead, Sheffield is acting like a victim of something heinous. The BMTG did not realize that Sheffield was this much of a drama queen.
Which brings up the ultimate questions – what was so terrible? And what is the big deal? Whatever contact happened was incidental and minimal. A fight did not break out. Play resumed. End of story.
Far worse has happened before – just look at all of the fan incidents in Oakland involving the unruly segment of their fan base.
And
the time in Chicago where a man and his son attacked Kansas City first base
coach Tom Gamboa was infinitely more disturbing than what happened in Fenway.
The bottom line is that this was a minor incident that does not deserve as much attention as it has gotten and should have been over and done with by the end of the next day. People reach over the wall all the time. Is it annoying? Yes, of course. It is not cool to interfere with the game and there is no doubt that the fan in question should not be reaching over the wall. But it seems as though the baseball world is placing all of its built up wrath on the shoulders of this one fan.
Heaping praise on Sheffield for not jumping into the stands and beating up people who are undoubtedly no match for him reminds the BMTG of the “Cool It Down” efforts by the California State Fair to reward hip-hop-clothes-wearing youth for behaving the way anyone should be expected to behave at the fair.
And think about this, what might have happened if the BoSox security did not swiftly jump in between Sheffield and the fans? Sheffield is acting totally innocent and blameless, yet it was Sheffield that confronted the fans while the play was still happening and again after he threw the ball back to the infield. The security guard did more to calm the situation than anyone else, and even though he was just doing his job like he is supposed to, it is he who should be commended.