YANKEES RIGHTY OFFERS UP AN APOLOGY
Yankees pitcher Domingo German gave a public apology Wednesday for actions that led to a lengthy suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, a day after he spoke with New York teammates and admitted he had engaged in dangerous conduct.
Speaking softly and dabbing his eyes at times, German said through a translator he wanted “to sincerely apologize to the Steinbrenner family, my teammates, the front office and those around me who love me. I have made mistakes of which I’m not proud of.”
The 28-year-old has been welcomed by teammates but also faced wariness as he attempts to regain a place in the starting rotation.
“He messed up in life,” first baseman Luke Voit said. “I don’t know the things he did. You always get a second chance at this. We have his back. But he’s skating on thin ice, and he needs to get his life together. And I think he’s doing the right steps to do so. But, again, he’s got to prove to us that he can do that.”
German was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 19, 2019 while MLB investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child.
German missed the final
nine games of the 2019 regular season and all nine of New York’s postseason games, then on Jan. 2, 2020, was suspended for 63 games. He missed the entire pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the playoffs. He returned to the Yankees for the start of spring training.
“I was able to speak to each player on the team yesterday. The only acceptable way to begin to move forward was to address them face to face,” German said during a Zoom news conference, speaking in Spanish with a translator at his side. “What I told the team: There are a lot of young players who wear this uniform and I want them to understand the great damage that can be done when
mistakes like mine have been made.”
Giancarlo Stanton thought it was a positive exchange.
“It was very smart to address to the team, just to get it out there, get it in the room and move forward from here,” he said. “It was definitely a big mistake he made, and he understands that. At the same time, it’s, ‘What are you going to do with that mistake?’ ”
Voit called German a friend but said “a lot of guys look at him differently now.”
German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2019 when he was put on leave.
Notable
American League MVP
Jose
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