Rob Manfred got it right with 30-game ban of Aroldis Chapman
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred speaks during a news conference at a meeting of MLB owners, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, in Coral Gables, Fla. Credit: AP / Lynne Sladky
TAMPA, Fla. — Right up front, let’s get this out of the way. To calculate what the horrors of domestic violence, the physical and emotional toll, should equate to in terms of baseball games, is an impossible task.
What formula is used for that? To determine what price should be paid for a shattered psyche, a bruised body or a broken family?
There isn’t one. Instead, commissioner Rob Manfred gathered all the facts in the case against Aroldis Chapman and tried to come up with a verdict that not only fit the evidence, but would stick as a solid precedent for MLB’s new domestic-violence policy.
By suspending Chapman for 30 games, Manfred got it right — or as close as he could reasonably hope for.
This wasn’t as straightforward as the NFL’s Ray Rice brutally knocking out his fiancée on an elevator’s security camera. Or even Jose Reyes, the former Met, being arrested and charged for physically assaulting his wife. With Chapman, there were allegations, but the only proven detail was an alarming one — him firing a handgun eight times into a garage wall.
That, plainly, was domestic violence. Despite the police report stating that Chapman’s girlfriend showed no signs of physical abuse, Manfred correctly determined she may have been traumatized in another manner, and recognized that in Tuesday’s ruling.
“I found Mr. Chapman’s acknowledged conduct on that day to be inappropriate under the negotiated policy,” Manfred said in his statement, “particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner.”
While Broward County chose not to pursue charges against Chapman, Manfred had to operate in less clearly defined margins — as well as be mindful of a possible challenge by the players’ union. Overreach on the penalty, and get chastised by an arbitrator knocking down the sentence. Delivering a lighter sentence, however, might court disaster, as Roger Goodell, his NFL counterpart, found out the hard way.
In the end, the 30-game suspension was a number that delivered what Manfred no doubt was aiming for — a significant punishment, but one that Chapman wouldn’t challenge on appeal. Rather than go through a contentious hearing, Manfred got a public apology from a contrite Chapman, who now goes into the policy as a model first test case.
“I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening,” Chapman said Tuesday in a statement released by his attorney. “However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry.”
So Chapman loses nearly $2 million in salary, but can continue to work out with the Yankees in spring training and is eligible to return May 9 against the Royals in the Bronx. Also of importance, he’ll still accrue the necessary service time during the regular season to become a free agent when it’s over. Considering all that, Chapman’s camp let it be known to the commissioner’s office that he wouldn’t fight the 30 games if that’s what Manfred settled on.
Did Chapman deserve worse? Maybe. But with Manfred on one side, the union on the other, and an arbitrator in the middle, it’s very possible Chapman could have got away with less. There were no precedents to lean on, and Manfred had to be mindful of getting the most desirable result as he looks ahead to future cases. Next up is Reyes, and now that Chapman’s 30 games is on the books, he figures to get considerably more after his trial, which begins April 4 in Hawaii.
Manfred gets credit for navigating through uncharted territory, and Chapman, to a degree, admitted to his egregious mistakes. But there are no winners here. The sad part is having the need for a domestic-violence policy in the first place, that such behavior continues, too often unchecked, until a tragic ending.
From the moment the Yankees traded for Chapman, everyone has speculated on the length of the suspension, or whether or not he also would be kicked out of spring training. How the Yankees’ improved bullpen might be affected by the extended loss of their new closer, who already has dazzled onlookers at Steinbrenner Field.
But let’s not forget one thing after Tuesday’s ruling. The best possible outcome is that it never, ever, happens again.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
