| | | CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- An angry debate over baseball etiquette, the opposing manager going postal ... Wednesday was just another night on the road for the Traveling Wilburys of Baseball, the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds.
|  | | Lehigh Valley first baseman Mark Williams, left, chat with ex-teammate P.J. Williams during Tuesday's game. P.J.'s departure was one reason tempers flared Wednesday. |
Wednesday's brouhaha between the Diamonds and the Long Island Ducks actually stemmed from the previous day. Lehigh Valley is bankrolled by the
Atlantic League, which essentially uses it as a farm team for its other clubs. That was made abundantly clear before the series began Tuesday, when the
Ducks reclaimed outfielder P.J. Williams, who had been on loan to Lehigh Valley to get sufficient playing time. The sudden transaction left the
Diamonds with barely enough players to field a lineup.
Some players naturally were a little frustrated about that, and they grew more irritated during Tuesday's 10-3 loss when Long Island manager Don McCormack had a player run on contact with a seven-run lead late in the game.
Lehigh Valley manager Bob Flori, a determined man from baseball's old school, took exception and complained to McCormack about it before
Wednesday's game during the exchange of lineup cards. And center fielder Chris Van Rossum really let McCormack have it in the eighth inning.
With two out and Long Island leading 12-4, McCormack (who doubles as the third-base coach) waved a runner home from second on a single to left
center. In the wake of Cleveland's rally from a 12-run deficit Sunday, baseball's etiquette on this is open to some debate, but Van Rossum clearly
regarded it as a flagrant breach. He began yelling at McCormack from center field, and the manager responded by telling third baseman Mark
Williams, "He better not be yelling at me."
He was. After catching a flyball for the final out, Van Rossum charged toward third base, shouting at McCormack about what a bush league move it was to send the runner and how unsportsmanlike it was to run up the score. That angered McCormack, who cursed back at Van Rossum, saying he didn't need to hear that from a rookie.
|  | | Lehigh Valley manager Bob Flori (10) addresses his team before the game. |
The exchange intensified, bringing most of the players onto the field. McCormack was so angry he had to be restrained a couple times from going after Van Rossum.
You occasionally see managers going after umpires or reporters like that, but it's rare to see one charge an opposing player. The sight was so wild
that the Lehigh Valley players who weren't yelling themselves were laughing hard.
"Van Rossum is the angriest man in America," left fielder Mike Piercy said. "He's as mad as Al Gore after the election. Mike Tyson wouldn't stand a chance against him."
McCormack was unapologetic for waving the runner home or for his behavior.
"I'm not going to let any players -- especially one on the opposing team -- yell at me. I've been in this game too long for that," he said. "Whether
I'm right or whether I'm wrong, that's my choice. I won't let anyone embarrass me on the field."
As for waving home the runner?
"If they don't like it, throw him out at home," he said. "What am I supposed to do, say to the batter, 'We don't care where you hit it, the
runner isn't going to score? We're holding him at third no matter what'?
"Why should I take something away from the hitter? We're not taking extra bases or bunting or stealing, but if a guy gets a hit, I'm not going to
take his RBI away from him."
"Yeah, it's one RBI, but we're already down by eight runs in the eighth inning. There's no need to keep burying us," said Van Rossum, who joined the team last week. "That just shows his character. That's why he was so mad. He knows he was wrong, and I pointed it out to him."
The incident had one benefit. Despite the loss, it lifted spirits in the clubhouse considerably and left the Diamonds laughing.
"Welcome to Lehigh Valley," right fielder John Adams said.
ESPN.com senior writer Jim Caple is spending this week on the road with the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds. Page 2 will send out its personal trainer if he actually gets into a game.
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