That was a great article. It's interesting to see that Tony Batista was connected to this and that the A's thought it was happening between Tejada and other Dominican players.

Plus, I'd always wondered what happened to Frank Menechino, and now I know he's "now the hitting instructor for the Class AA Trenton Thunder".

Thanks for posting the article.

How nice to have accusers clearly stand up and identify themselves, and identify the specific plays they had problems with. So much better than the A-Rod situation.

At the time of the meeting, the Athletics were floundering around .500, playing well below their talent level. From that point forward, they went on a tear, winning three-quarters of their remaining games to earn a playoff spot. A long, tumultuous season for Tejada and the A’s ended when they lost their first-round series to the Yankees in five hard-fought games.

Tejada's stuff just doesn't work in the playoffs...

Mets third baseman Fernando Tatis said that he had never seen or heard of an actual case of pitch tipping or helping an opponent, but he added, “It happens.”

Well, that kind of hard evidence nails it down.

At the time of the meeting, the Athletics were floundering around .500, playing well below their talent level. From that point forward, they went on a tear, winning three-quarters of their remaining games to earn a playoff spot. A long, tumultuous season for Tejada and the A’s ended when they lost their first-round series to the Yankees in five hard-fought games.

Tejada's stuff just doesn't work in the playoffs...

But if Jeremy had been a Dominican, Tejada might have told him to slide.

Wait a minute...Tejada's a Republican? Huh.

A few questions:

1) Why now, eight years later?

2) How does Batista get signs from the catcher while playing third? The article mentions Batista dropping a foul pop up and Tejeda not going hard after a ground ball but that doesn't explain the rest.

3) whom he released a month after the A’s series for financial reasons. How is that possible? A games played option was going to vest in early June?

It is BS. Two guys from the same country each have a good, but not stunning, series.

It is BS. Two guys from the same country each have a good, but not stunning, series.

Oh, I agree. This is just some misplaced "we've got to get the steroids players" story by the Times. Look, as an Astros' fan, I see Tejada play a lot. He makes some incredibly good fielding plays. But he makes some absolutely boneheaded fielding plays too. I haven't noticed that it makes any difference whether a Dominican or an Anglo player is batting. That's just part of the Tejada package---you get the occasional, "how in the heck did he miss that grounder (or throw away an easy out)" defensive play out of him. I'm surprised that the Times would use this kind of weak evidence to make a very serious charge about a player. But when it comes to players suspected of steroids use, innuendo and rumor are good enough for the Times, I guess.

Mets third baseman Fernando Tatis said that he had never seen or heard of an actual case of pitch tipping or helping an opponent, but he added, “It happens.”

Well, that kind of hard evidence nails it down.

... which begs the question, why the f-ck was that quote deemed so important to include in the article? All the news that's fit to print, indeed!

3) whom he released a month after the A’s series for financial reasons.

How is that possible? A games played option was going to vest in early June?

That was poorly phrased, but Batista was let go for financial reasons. The Jays waived him and Baltimore claimed him and the remaining 2 1/2 years and 11 million dollars of his contract.

That was poorly phrased, but Batista was let go for financial reasons. The Jays waived him and Baltimore claimed him and the remaining 2 1/2 years and 11 million dollars of his contract.

So Gord Ash knew the 2001 Orioles were going to pick up the salary? It seems to me that if a team is willing to pick up the full contract, then there is some possibility for a trade.

He knew that once the O's claimed him off of waivers. From that point, it appears that the Jays let him go rather than negotiate a deal that would involve them getting a prospect in exchange for picking up some of Batista's future salaries. The Jays dumping salary at that point makes sense.

All the news that's fit to print, indeed!

To be fair, they never said that everything they print is fit to print, only that all such news is printed.

He knew that once the O's claimed him off of waivers. From that point, it appears that the Jays let him go rather than negotiate a deal that would involve them getting a prospect in exchange for picking up some of Batista's future salaries. The Jays dumping salary at that point makes sense.

It was in June, not August. Only trade waivers are revocable. The Jays put him on waivers in order to grant him his release. There were three days during which a team could take his contract by placing a claim. After that, the Jays would have 7(?) days to trade or release Batista.

I'm surprised that the Times would use this kind of weak evidence to make a very serious charge about a player. But when it comes to players suspected of steroids use, innuendo and rumor are good enough for the Times, I guess.

I think this an excellent article, and I don't see the NYT as making any "very serious charges."

The article was about a July 2001 meeting at which Tejada was accused by teammates of tipping pitches (and, apparently, botching plays). Such a meeting is certainly newsworthy, especially to me as an A's fan. The quotes from Hudson, Damon, Menechino and Tejada confirm the meeting took place and give us some details as to who said what. Gant's warning against singling out Dominicans and Damon's explanation of a young player being too eager to shift defensively gave the story balance.

The author then documented the plays in question (though not the pitch tipping as much.) He also repeatedly stressed that there was no proof the allegations were true.

I don't see how this is anything like the steroid accusation articles that simply quote anonymous sources, and it's certainly miles better than the A-Rod pitch tipping "allegations."

The Jays put him on waivers in order to grant him his release. There were three days during which a team could take his contract by placing a claim. After that, the Jays would have 7(?) days to trade or release Batista.

iirc, the Jays were trying to sneak him through waivers because they wanted to send him to the minors to work on somethings, with a callup later on guaranteed. They didn't think that anybody would claim him.

Why not just make up a DL story and then 'rehab' him?

Why not just make up a DL story and then 'rehab' him?

That's what intelligent front offices would have done. There was speculation online when the Jays were looking for a new GM a bit later that one of the reasons they didn't go with Dave Stewart is that he was an assistant GM with them and apparently was one of the ones responsible for the mess up - thus leading to Ricciardi's hiring.