Pitcher pelts former teammate in elbow
Ubaldo Jimenez hit former Colorado teammate Troy Tulowitzki with the first pitch Sunday at the Cleveland Indians and Rockies game.
Troy Tulowitzki and Ubaldo Jimenez immediately confronted each other on the diamond; the plate umpire and players from both teams held the players apart as they tried to get at each other.
“From my take, as soon as he hit me it just seemed like he wanted a little more. That’s when the confrontation started,” said Tulowitzki, reported the Chicago Sun Times. “I definitely wasn’t happy about being hit. I don’t think you ever are … so it was back and forth. Not saying it was just him or me.”
Ubaldo Jimenez is claiming it was an accident. “I don’t want to hurt him at all. Just one pitch that got away that could happen to anybody […]It was the first inning and I didn’t have good control of my fastball. As you guys can see I walked the first guy on four pitches,” he said.
Rockies manager Jim Tracy, however, called it “the most gutless act I’ve seen in 35 years in the game, that’s what I saw.”
“That’s exactly what I witnessed,” Tracy said. “He intentionally threw at him, he should be suspended. I’ll be very disappointed if he doesn’t get suspended because he deserves to be suspended.”
Trowy Tulowitzki was taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays on his elbow, which were negative.
Ubaldo Jimenez was traded to the Indians last summer after he did not receive a contract extension from Colorado. He recently told Foxsports.com that he was upset that Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez got new deals.
