TAMPA – If you want to understand why Domingo German faces a unique and challenging path back to a good position in the Yankees’ organization, which differs from any other player who served time for violating the Major League Baseball domestic violence protocols, then you need to look no further than Zack Britton’s single tweet on February 18th.
Earlier that day, the Yankees’ elite peacemaker, attending a Zoom press conference, answered a question about German with surprisingly sharp words: “Sometimes you can’t control who your teammates are and that’s the situation. I don’t agree with what he did. I don’t think it has a place in the game or off the field or at all. “
When an apparent German supporter went after Britton on Twitter, stating: “… you still don’t know the circumstances of what happened, so just STFU and pitch …” Britton replied, quoting the critic with his own response:
“Hah, do you think I don’t know the circumstances? Get a clue. The BTW question was asked, I gave my answer. Don’t worry if you are sensitive to this. “
Britton knows the circumstances of German’s incident with his girlfriend because the problem started around the Yankees and involved them as peacekeepers and informers. German cannot minimize the episode in any way, and no 2019 Yankee who is still here, like Britton, can distance himself from him.
On Sunday, the 28-year-old German postponed a scheduled press conference, citing the need to communicate with his companions first. Through the Yankees, German said: “It is important for me to have the opportunity to speak directly to my teammates, individually and collectively, and to speak to them face to face before speaking to the media and fans. This process has started, but more time is needed, especially since half of our team has not yet made it to spring training. I recognize that speaking publicly will be an important step for me and I will do so in the next few days. “
Reasonable call; the press conference can wait. As German noted, however, the press conference will be his own important step for the right-handed to demonstrate responsibility and vow to change his behavior, since some interesting hiccups have occurred since the initial offense.
Aroldis Chapman, who started his career at the Yankees serving a 30-game suspension for domestic violence in 2016, promised to support his teammate and said the two men spoke on Saturday. However, the closest to the Yankees added: “My experience and his are a little different. If you remember, I was joining a new team. I didn’t really know my teammates at the time. This is completely different from his situation. He’s returning to his team. Almost 99 percent of the players here, he knows, and he had some kind of relationship with them. “
And at least one of those relationships, with Britton, is clearly broken. The Post reported on September 19, 2019, three days after the night in question, allegations that German physically abused his girlfriend the night of a charity gala organized by Yankee CC Sabathia, who was retiring. Athletic on Sunday added details that the first such action took place at the gala, followed by an even more worrisome sequence at the couple’s home where German’s girlfriend hid in a locked room and called another’s wife. Yankees player – which led to that player and his wife going to German’s living establishment to help German’s girlfriend and calm the German himself. Another Yankees official, alerted to what happened through a communication network initiated by German’s girlfriend, reported the incident to the MLB, resulting in a rare and long suspension for an incident that did not involve the police.
On Sunday, Yankees coach Aaron Boone acknowledged that he “probably” should have done a better job of reading his club’s temperature on the German’s return. Boone must remain there while German tries to regain the trust of his teammates, an effort that cannot include an inch of insincerity, because many people, like Britton, know too much to suffer.