Rambling Dusty Baker Defends Aroldis Chapman, Asks For African- And Latin-American Players
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Much like with the Nationals organization in general, it's hard to know where to start with Dusty Baker.
Baker, Washington's new manager, injected himself into the spotlight at MLB winter meetings Tuesday, discussing the need for African-American and Latin-American players because of their speed, and throwing out such gems as "abusers don't always have pants on."
When asked what he saw as his needs, Baker, who was hired in November, said he needed players of particular ethnicities.
"You're always in need of left-handed pitching, left-handed hitting, and in need of speed. I think that's the No. 1 thing that's missing, I think, in the game is speed," he said. "You know, with the need for minorities, you can help yourself. You've got a better chance of getting some speed with Latin and African-Americans. I'm not being racist. That's just how it is."
As if dropping the "I'm not being racist" bomb wasn't enough of an inauspicious start, Baker kept rumbling. He defended his former player with the Reds, Aroldis Chapman, who is being investigated by MLB over allegations of domestic violence stemming from an incident in October. He also took a drastic turn away from discussions about the MLB domestic violence policy for players, and instead discussed the potential for female abusers.
"I think it's a great thing," he said when asked about the MLB policy. "I mean, I got a buddy at home that's being abused by his wife. So I think this policy needs to go further than the player. I think the policy should go to whoever's involved. Sometimes abusers don't always have pants on."
He continued: "I think we need to get them both in a room and try to come up with something. It's a bad situation. That's the first thing my momma told me when I was a kid. Don't hit a woman, even my sister. Man, I was like you better leave me alone before I tell my momma."
Baker admitted he had not read anything about the Chapman case, but still denied his former player had done anything wrong.
"I don't believe reports," he said, before discussing his respect for Chapman. "Oh, he's a heck of a guy. I'll go on record and say I wouldn't mind having Chapman. No, no, he is a tremendous young man with a great family, mom and dad, and what he went through to get here and what his family had to go through to get here. … I got nothing but love for the young man."
When asked how he heard about the allegations, Baker continued: "I heard it from my son. I mean, who's to say the allegations are true, number one. And who's to say what you would have done or what caused the problem."
Police determined there was "insufficient evidence" to charge Chapman, but the possibility of punishment still lingers under MLB's new domestic violence policy.