Jesus Montero attempted to attack his own teams scout with a bat last night, all because of an ice-cream sandwich. Yes, you read that correctly. No, it will not get any more normal the more you read it. Psychotic catchers have been a regular feature in baseball news this year — we had the ear-biting Miguel Olivo earlier in the year and now we have the scout-attacking Montero. I can’t decide who is the bigger idiot, it’s difficult.
Montero was in Boise on Thursday on a rehab assignment with the Class-A Everett AquaSox, with a crosschecker watching. Montero wasn’t even playing, but reports have now surfaced he was active in other ways. MiLB.com had a detailed report of the ordeal;
"Montero was coaching first base, and at the end of an inning, the unidentified cross-checker yelled at him to hustle off the field… the cross-checker then ordered an ice cream sandwich and had it sent to Montero in the dugout, escalating the confrontation further. The official said Montero — who arrived at Mariners Spring Training 40 pounds overweight this season — approached the stands with a bat while screaming profanities and threw the sandwich at the cross-checker."
Recap: Crosschecker yelled at Montero, who was rightly annoyed at the incident. The crosschecker continued to troll the overweight catcher when he ordered an ice-cream sandwich to be delivered to the clubhouse for Montero. Montero then got very annoyed, and did what all normal people with normal emotions would do: Threw the sandwich at the scout, swore at him and attempted to attack him with his bat in the stand.
Call me crazy and immoral, but I kind of feel sorry for Montero. I mean, does your heart not bleed when you see the ‘fat kid’ getting bullied over his weight? Shame on you, crosschecker. You have summoned a side of Montero we never knew existed. A side I didn’t want to know existed.
Montero has been renowned for disappointment. He was part of the trade that sent Michael Pineda from Seattle to New York as a top catching prospect, but things haven’t quite turned out for Jesus as once envisaged. To sum his career up in a few sentences: Has struggled in the majors, was involved in the PED scandal, reported to spring training massively overweight this year, was sent to the minors and attacks crosscheckers with ice-cream. Hall of Fame bound? Might well be.