IL President, Randy Mobley was kind enough to conduct a telephone interview regarding the Erik Kratz suspension and the following is the account of that conversation.
I asked Mr. Mobley if the appeal process was in fact his and his alone and if it differs than that of the Major League’s.
He informed me that the appeal process is different than that of the Major League’s and that Erik was allowed to fully offer his side of the incident. Mr. Mobley had all sides of the story and made his professional decision with all the facts in hand.
Next question involved the many other players who left their positions and the seemingly lack of fines or discipline for them.
Although I did not find this reported elsewhere, there were a number of other players and many Louisville Bats who left their positions and were also fined although none were egregious enough to warrant a suspension.
Next was the report that Bat’s manager Rick Sweet and on field officials were consulted before the decision was handed down yet Mr. Sandberg and Mr. Kratz were not.
Mr. Mobley did address that but requested that his answer remain off the record. I will say his response was unexpected and nothing further will be written.
I then asked about the incident in the 9th inning when again players left their position including Bat’s catcher James Skelton.
Mr. Mobley was certainly aware of that, however it was deemed that it was not aggressive and that move alone did not cause the benches to empty. It was Gil’s plunking that did so and he was suspended for 4 games and received a larger fine than Kratz.
Finally, Mr. Mobley offered a brief summary of the incident and the resulting Kratz suspension:
As Juan Francisco was taking his base following the plunking by Aumont it was noted that he was jawing at the LHV bench (not a suspendable offense), however at no time did he deviate from the first base line and wound up standing on first base. It was deemed that as Kratz aggressively pursued Francisco toward first base that’s what ultimately caused the benches to empty. The video evidence appears to support that.
I would like to thank Mr. Mobley for his time and put this story to bed. He was very cordial, professional and informative – it was a pleasure speaking with him.
Now, with the Pigs in a tie with Gwinnett, the task at hand is (still) obvious – WIN!
Be sure to visit the IronPigs website for tie breaker, playoff, and ticketing information.
Go Pigs!
OinK On!
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