Umps need to practice prevention

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Retaliation is an unfortunate part of sports. Some will insist it is necessary to save face or ensure aggressive actions are put to a swift halt.

During Saturday’s first game of a doubleheader between Husson College and Castleton State (Vt.), there were a couple of ugly incidents that nearly led to brawls.

Husson pitcher James Gray instigated the ugliness when he delivered a forearm shiver to Castleton State’s Billy Bruneau, who had grounded back to him and was running to first.

Gray insisted that the hard tag he applied to Bruneau was a reaction to Bruneau’s dipping his shoulder. Gray anticipated that Bruneau was going to try to bowl him over and knock the ball out of his glove.

He said he didn’t mean to hit Bruneau as hard as he did. Still, Gray could have thrown to first or slapped a tag on Bruneau’s thigh.

In the top of the next inning, Spartans pitcher Jeremy Gilcris retaliated. First, he threw a pitch up near the head of Husson’s Adam Sheehan, forcing Sheehan to duck out of the way.

Two pitches later, Gilcris hit Sheehan in the helmet.

That resulted in the pitcher’s ejection.

It should also result in a suspension.

Fortunately, Sheehan wasn’t hurt and jogged down to first base after voicing his displeasure to Gilcris.

I can understand Gilcris wanting to send a message to the Eagles that Gray’s forearm shiver wasn’t going to be tolerated. He was justified.

He was sticking up for Bruneau and his teammates.

Gilcris wouldn’t comment when asked about the incident.

The fact he had thrown 70 strikes among his 92 pitches entering the inning probably ruled out a sudden case of wildness or the pitch slipped out of his hand.

But you should never throw at somebody’s head.

He could have thrown the ball behind Sheehan or thrown an off-speed pitch at his legs or body.

His message would have been loud and clear.

When you throw at somebody’s head, you are not only endangering their careers, you are endangering their lives.

We all remember Tony Conigliaro and his beaning and how it all but ended his career.

We all do things in the heat of the moment that we sometimes regret.

When you are in that situation, you have only a split second to make a decision.

The umpires may have been able to prevent the beaning by stopping the game and warning both benches after Gilcris’ first pitch sailed up by Sheehan’s head.

I have always maintained that one of the most important jobs of an umpire or a referee is controlling a game.

If emotions are running high, umps and refs need to address that. They need to diffuse a potentially volatile situation.

Even if it means stopping a game and laying down the law to both coaches.

There hadn’t been anything remotely volatile in the Husson-Castleton State game until the Gray tag on Bruneau.

To the credit of both coaches and both teams, there was no carryover in the second game. The teams simply played baseball. They put the hard feelings from the first game in the past.

I’m sure both Gray and Gilcris learned from their mistakes. And if they face each other in the NAC tournament this weekend, I don’t envision any repercussions.

Hopefully.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.