Earlier today, as first announced by Yahoo Sports’ Hannah Keyser, the MLB has announced that Domingo German will serve an 81-Game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
This suspension is retroactive to September 19th of last season, when German was first placed on administrative leave, after allegedly striking his wife after C.C. Sabathia’s charity gala. German missed the final 9 games of the 2019 season- as well as 9 postseason games- and will make up the remaining time by missing the first 63 games of the 2020 season.
This is the longest such suspension handed down by Major League Baseball in regards to cases of domestic violence that have come without any formal legal charges. This is also the fourth longest domestic violence suspension, regardless of legal charges.
As with all breaking news, as more information becomes available, we will be updating this post.
Tweets:
Yankees RHP Domingo Germán suspended 81 games under MLB domestic violence policy, retroactive to September, will miss first 63 games of 2020, sources tell @YahooSports https://t.co/Mo3oT4lEWI — Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) January 2, 2020
MLB officially announces Germán suspension: pic.twitter.com/o3YzWAZWzI — Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 2, 2020
Statement from the New York Yankees regarding MLB’s discipline of Domingo Germán: pic.twitter.com/huqHbYnJPA — New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 2, 2020
Follow-Up Information:
Back when Domingo German was originally placed on administrative leave, the MLBPA did not contest the leave. The players association also agreed with the MLB to extended the original 7-Day Investigation and leave on September 25th. This included extending the leave through remaining portion of the regular season, as well as extending it into the postseason.
At the time, German was still receiving payment, but will now have to forfeit a portion of his $577,500 salary from the 2019 season that was earned during those final 9 games of the season, as part of the disciplinary guidelines.
Domingo German has agreed to not appeal the discipline, as announced in the press release by the Office of the Commissioner. German has also made a contribution to a local non-profit organization that works to aid victims of domestic violence, and will be participating in a joint evaluation and treatment policy program as supervised by the Joint Policy Board of the MLB.
The official release by the Yankees supports the discipline that has been determined by Major League Baseball, and stated encouraging words about how German has handled his actions after the matter, emphasizing that his actions after the fact have hopefully led to a meaningful and positive change to his personal conduct.
Updates:
According to Lindsay Adler, the Yankees Reporter for The Athletic, the misconduct did not happen at C.C. Sabathia’s charity gala as first reported, but instead happened afterwards on September 19th, at the German’s private residence in Westchester County, New York. At this time, there is no police report on the matter.
I understand public interest in knowing what a player on your favorite team is accused of doing. But consider how you’d feel if you were a victim & your story was made public because of some expectation of obligation. Fans will have to judge this by the context of the suspension. — Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) January 2, 2020
At this time, the MLB’s domestic violence policy has no effect on postseason eligibility, so Domingo German would be a possible arm to be added to the postseason roster, if the time and place for such a discussion develops during the season. As Lindsay Adler mentioned in the linked tweet, both Aroldis Chapman and Roberto Osuna pitched in the playoffs during years that they were suspended under this policy.
German missed the 2019 postseason because of a joint agreement with the MLB and MLBPA on continuing a investigation and administrative leave for the right-handed pitcher after allegations were first reported.
