{"id":332,"date":"2008-04-04T04:49:37","date_gmt":"2008-04-04T11:49:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/04\/when-will-larry-bowa-realize-he%e2%80%99s-not-bigger-than-the-game\/"},"modified":"2008-04-05T00:47:44","modified_gmt":"2008-04-05T07:47:44","slug":"when-will-larry-bowa-realize-he%e2%80%99s-not-bigger-than-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/04\/04\/when-will-larry-bowa-realize-he%e2%80%99s-not-bigger-than-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"When Will Larry Bowa Realize He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Not Bigger Than The Game?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some say rules are made to be broken. Others say rules are rules. Most say two wrongs don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a right. In Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, he thinks the rules don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t apply… but do many wrongs make a right?<\/em><\/p>\n

With two on and two out in a 0-0 game in the sixth inning, Larry Bowa decided this crucial moment in the game was the time to test Ed Montague. The third base umpire had warned Bowa numerous times about staying within the designated box that third-base coaches are now required to stand in thanks to one of the new rules instituted in the off-season to keep on-field coaches safe.<\/p>\n

Montague delivered on his promise to Bowa and tossed him from the game. In typical Bowa fashion, he overreacted and it took manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer to restrain him. Schaefer practically had to wrestle Bowa to the ground by grabbing him by the jersey to keep him from the third base umpire. Somehow, the warning Bowa received one inning earlier didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t register and, in a critical moment in the game, Bowa got himself ejected.<\/p>\n

His reaction \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which including dumping a cooler full of Gatorade on the dugout floor \u00e2\u20ac\u201c was not just one of anger but of shock. I guess Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memory was too short to remember an inning ago. In addition, it was childish but it did give Torre and Schaefer an opportunity to play mom and dad.<\/p>\n

After the game, Bowa unleashed a profanity-laced tirade. He declared it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153impossible to coach third and stay in the box with a runner at second.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The league handed down a mandatory three-game suspension the next day and fined Bowa for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153his inappropriate and aggressive conduct, which included making contact\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with Montague, according to the MLB\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s press release. Apparently, Bowa didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the memo. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For getting kicked out of the game, you get a three-game suspension. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s totally uncalled for. I have no idea why,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Bowa on Wednesday. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I got a fine, which I expected. But I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what the fine is, to be honest with you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Maybe someone can run back the footage for Bowa; maybe he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get it then.<\/p>\n

What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more ridiculous are some of Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s excuses. Bob Watson is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153prejudiced\u00e2\u20ac\u009d against him. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He wants to get me any way he can get me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d commented Bowa. He also cried foul because while he was getting suspended, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153guys who tested positive for steroids and admitted they took them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no suspensions. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still playing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said in a comment designed to strengthen his defense for attempted assault of an umpire doing his job.<\/p>\n

Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beef is with the new rules. First, his problem is with the helmet that on-field coaches are now required to wear. Baseball responsibly but possibly unnecessarily reacted to Mike Coolbaugh\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death after being struck with a line drive during a minor league game while coaching first base by mandating all first and third base coaches wear helmets. Does Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s argument against the helmets have merit? Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s his point-by-point argument:<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00b7 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been in the league 40 years and he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think the league should be able to tell him who wears a helmet and who doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.
\n\u00c2\u00b7 Bats break and they can be a deadly weapon. Do something about bats.
\n\u00c2\u00b7 Umpires get hit with line drives. They should have to wear helmets if coaches do.
\n\u00c2\u00b7 There should be a grandfather clause and he should be able to sign a waiver.
\n\u00c2\u00b7 If his helmet falls off, the game will have to stop and this will cause a frequent delay of the game.
\n\u00c2\u00b7 They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re uncomfortable.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition, Bowa isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happy with the rule that requires him to stay within the confines of the coaches\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 box when the ball is not in play. He contends that it makes it difficult for him to do his job because he cannot properly position himself for the runner to see him. (Note that after the ball is put into play, the third-base coach is free to move into a different position along the line.) And, get this; he feels that it is dangerous. The logic is astounding.<\/p>\n

But why would anyone expect logic from a 62-year-old man who had to be physically removed from the field and decided to attack a defenseless Gatorade cooler? Why would anyone expect logic from someone who chooses a crucial point in the game to take a further stand against a rule he disagrees with.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, the game went on without Bowa. First base coach Mariano Duncan took over for his oppressed counterpart. Despite the helmet hardships and the coaches\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 box confinement, Duncan made a great decision in the ninth inning to send Rafael Furcal on an infield hit by Delwyn Young and Furcal beat Rich Aurillia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s throw home for the win. Somehow, Duncan did Bowa’s job despite the harrowing conditions.<\/p>\n

So far, most sports writers have credited Bowa with being spunky and uninhibited. Dodger fans cheered him as he threw his temper tantrum. In the end, shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we be disgusted with his behavior and put the focus on the despicable behavior of a man who should be mature enough to handle himself more professionally?\u00c2\u00a0 My guess is that Bob Watson doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a grudge against Bowa but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on his radar. Can you blame Watson though? If Watson were the principal, Bowa would be the kid always called to the principal\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s office. Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s biggest argument is that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spent 40 years in the league and his experience should entitle him a say in whether or not he needs protection on the field. You would think that after 40 years of experience, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be able to put aside his personal causes for the good of the team. At the very least, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be able to maintain his composure enough to not attack another human being. And if those two things are too much to ask, at the very, very least, you’d think he’d understand why his behavior was wrong.<\/p>\n

Some Other \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Highlights\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Of Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Temper (And It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Not Even A Complete List!)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

May 8, 1971 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>As a Phillie, Bowa was ejected in the fifth inning after a close play at first base on a bunt. He threw his sunglasses on the field from the dugout after the ejection. The ejection cost him a chance to extend a nine-game hitting streak.<\/p>\n

June 27, 1972 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa smashed three light bulbs in the dugout runway after going 0-for-4 against the Cubs.<\/p>\n

April 28, 1976 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa disagreed with a called strike by umpire Jim Quick. On the next pitch, Bowa grounded out. On his way to the dugout, he shouted at Quick and was ejected. He exploded from the dugout to further the argument and bumped Quick. Bowa was suspended for 3 games and fined $350.<\/p>\n

May 13, 1980 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa became the first Phillie ejected in the 1980 season after an argument with home plate umpire Steve Fields over a strike call.<\/p>\n

August 24, 1981 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Manager Dallas Green and Bowa were ejected by third base umpire Steve Fields after both player and manager bumped him during an argument. Green was fined $1000 and suspended for 5 games while Bowa was fined $500.<\/p>\n

June 5, 1982 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>In his first season with the Cubs, Bowa destroyed a Wrigley dugout toilet and smashed several light bulbs in the dugout runway after grounding into a double play.<\/p>\n

July 31, 1983 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa ripped an official scorer after a game in Philadelphia after he failed to credit him with a stolen base when the catcher made no throw to second on his steal attempt. The former Phillie accused the scorer of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153trying to be cute\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because he used to play there.<\/p>\n

May 1987 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>During his first season as a major league manager, Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Padres struggled. Tony Gwynn was asked his thoughts. Gwynn said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I just stand in the clubhouse, back into my locker stall and watch the manager scream.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

March 15, 1988 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>During a spring training game with Seattle, Bowa was ejected for disputing a balk. Bowa later commented that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the changes made to the balk rule in the off-season.<\/p>\n

July 28, 1989 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa, now a third base coach with the Phillies, was ejected by Steve Rippley after poking him in the mouth during an argument.<\/p>\n

May 2001 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>In his first season as Phillies manager, Bowa was asked to comment on the new zero tolerance rule on knockdown pitches. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153People know when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re throwing at somebody, believe me. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need an umpire to say that it was intentional.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His solution? If a guy on his team was hit on purpose, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you took care of it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

July 14, 2001 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa was ejected by umpire Dan Iassogna after arguing balls and strikes. Iassogna said Bowa bumped him but Bowa denied it.<\/p>\n

May 7, 2002 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa was ejected for disputing a call at home plate. Bob Watson handed down a fine and a three game suspension. The punishment was for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153arguing excessively and making inappropriate comments.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bowa ripped Watson after the suspension. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a joke. Bob Watson is a former player, too. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be embarrassed if I were him. He has a vendetta against me and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know why. I could care less about Bob Watson.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

March 26, 2003 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>During a spring training game, Bowa was ejected after yelling at Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay which led to both benches emptying. Bowa was upset after both teams were warned when Rheal Cormier threw two inside pitches to Halladay after Halladay hit Jim Thome with a pitch in the third inning. Bowa had to be restrained by several people.<\/p>\n

June 19, 2003 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>In the ninth inning of a one-run game, Bowa was tossed after he felt Jose Mesa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1-2 pitch was a strike. Bowa threw his hat down several times, kicked dirt on the plate and had to be physically removed from the field by bench coach Gary Varsho and first base umpire Charlie Reliford. After the game, Bowa accused the umpires of calling strikes for the Braves that were not strikes for the Phillies.<\/p>\n

July 7, 2003 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa was ejected for the second time in four days after benches cleared when Brandon Duckworth hit opposing pitcher Livan Hernandez against the Expos. Bowa was upset with umpire Bill Welke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision not to eject Hernandez when he screamed at Duckworth and began walking toward the mound.<\/p>\n

August 2003 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>After being designated for assignment, Tyler Houston commented about Bowa, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everybody feels the same way about (Bowa). He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give a crap about anybody in there. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give a crap about his players. He only cares about himself. You see it in the negativity and disrespect that he has for his players, the way he speaks to his players. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the first one to slam you, embarrass you, throw stuff in the dugout, throw his hands up in the air. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve read that the team is winning because of (Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s) meeting. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not winning because of (his) meeting, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s winning because of the player\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meeting.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bowa responded a few days later by calling Houston a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153loser.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He suggested reporters ask Jim Thome if the player\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like their manager but Thome refused to comment.<\/p>\n

April 1, 2004 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>During another spring training game with the Blue Jays, Bowa was ejected after Ryan Madson threw behind Frank Catalanatto in retaliation for an earlier incident where Phillies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 catcher Shawn Wooten was plunked by Miguel Batista. He was suspended for one game.<\/p>\n

July 9, 2004 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c <\/strong>Bowa was ejected after disputing a home run call in a game against the Braves. Bowa initially argued the call and returned to the dugout but continued to badger umpire Bruce Dreckman who tossed him after the next batter lined out. After being ejected, he got nose-to-nose with Dreckman, threw his hat down and gestured several times. It was Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fourth ejection of the season and #21 of his four seasons with the Phillies. Bowa would be ejected one more time before being fired at the end of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some say rules are made to be broken. Others say rules are rules. Most say two wrongs don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a right. In Bowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, he thinks the rules don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t apply… but do many wrongs make a right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}