Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has all but called Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones a liar concerning the racial incident which occurred at Fenway Park earlier this week. Schilling bases his assertion on a blog which claims Jones made up the story due to the heated rivalry between the Sox and Orioles.
No doubt there is bad blood between the two clubs which began last month over Manny Machado sliding into and spiking Dustin Pedroia last month and Matt Barnes subsequent suspension for trying to bean Machado. On Monday, Orioles starter plunked Mookie Betts. Indeed, only minutes after Fenway fans gave Jones a standing ovation, Red Sox ace Chris Sale threw behind Machado's knees. Then last night home plate umpire Sam Holbrook ejected Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman for throwing a breaking ball that hit Xander Bogaerts. There is one more game between the Sox and Orioles this evening so the sparks could ignite further.
But if Jones is lying then what about Red Sox pitcher David Price who says he's been subject to racial taunts from the Fenway faithful? Or Red Sox outfielder Chris Young? Or Yankees lefty C.C. Sabathia? Does Schilling think they are lying as well?
At this point, I give Jones the benefit of the doubt. I didn't agree with Jones when he said last September that baseball was "a white man's game." But that doesn't mean he isn't telling the truth. Jones has had 12-years of big league service and hasn't been one to casually cast aspersions upon people. He's been a solid citizen and deserves to be treated as such.
As for Schilling, I don't think this will help his chances of getting inducted into Cooperstown. Of course, I don't think his statements about Jones much less his support for Trump should disqualify him. He should be judged by his performance on the field. Although in this particular case I believe Schilling is as wrong in claiming Jones is a liar as Jones was for claiming baseball is a white man's sport.
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