Mitch Williams says he’s been blackballed by MLB
Former Philadelphia Phillies reliever Mitch Williams has never backed down from a confrontation. That attitude may have worked on the mound, but it hasn’t benefited Williams off the field. In 2014, Williams took a leave of absence from MLB Network after engaging in a profanity-laced tirade with an umpire during a kids baseball game. Williams was eventually fired by the network.
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Since then, Williams hasn’t done much work as a baseball analyst. But he believes he knows the reason why. According to Williams, he’s been blackballed by Major League Baseball.
In an interview with The700Level Show, Williams says MLB partnering with every major network has made it impossible to find a job. When asked directly if he believes MLB is blackballing him, Williams says yes.
“In my mind, yes I have,” Williams said. “That’s sour grapes. I’m not someone who’s going to sit around on sour grapes. I continue to go out and try to find things to do, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
Williams expands on his current situation in the full interview, which can be seen in it’s entirety below.
As host John Gonzalez mentions at the beginning of the interview, Williams has filed lawsuits against MLB Network and Deadspin following his termination.
Deadspin obtained both pictures and video of the event. The pictures show Williams engaged in an argument with an umpire during a tournament. He was reportedly ejected from that game.
The video doesn’t show Williams interaction with the ump, but does show Williams talking with the team’s catcher just moments before an opposing player was hit by a pitch (link contains NSFW language). According to people at the event, Williams ordered the team to hit an opposing player, hoping to knock him out of the game. Williams admitted that he “told him to throw it inside.”
Williams also issued a vague apology after the event. Williams doesn’t admit to doing anything wrong in the apology, he just says he regrets what happened.
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All of those factors will probably make it difficult for Williams to win either of his lawsuits.
(BLS H/N: HardBall Talk)
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
