Baltimore Orioles to undergo anti-domestic violence education

Major League Baseball announced earlier this week that the entire 40-man roster of the Baltimore Orioles and every other team will have to undergo an anti-domestic violence seminar this spring. The program began yesterday at the Arizona facilities of the Oakland A’s, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago Cubs. This is being done in response to several high-profile NFL players landing in trouble for domestic violence over time, however especially in the past year.

Courtesy of Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

And I would submit that this is a good thing. First off, it shows that baseball is proactive on issues as such. I would submit that far too often we’re shocked and appalled when something (along the lines of the Ray Rice video) comes out, and then we react to that as a society. However as opposed to placing rules and parameters on players for if and when an incident occurs, the league is reaching out to each camp this spring to try to inform and educate players in hopes of avoiding incidents in the future.

The most important aspect of this training needs to be that it’s simply wrong to abuse women, and there are no if’s and’s or but’s about that. However perhaps what needs to be said is that all players should assume that they’re under a microscope. By this, I mean that players should make the assumption that someone’s watching them, and that whatever happens can and will get back to the commissioner. This means that ignorance isn’t an excuse. If people assume that they’re going to get caught, they’re probably not opt to commit a crime.

Ultimately, other sports and possibly even companies or organizations should take their cues from MLB in this case. While incidents like these happen at a feverish pace, people need to take a step back and ask themselves what they’re doing as opposed to acting on the spur of the moment. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see MLB in front of this issue…hopefully before it actually becomes an issue.

While all teams will undergo this training, it’s unclear when the O’s will see it in Sarasota. And here’s the other thing; keep in mind that Buck Showalter is a pretty family-oriented guy. I can’t see him as the type of manager who would stand idly by and allow one of his players to abuse their wives, girlfriends, etc. The example is set from the top down, and I suspect that most guys will have no issue taking their cues from Buck.

Buck Showalter also announced yesterday that Ubaldo Jimenez will be starting Tuesday afternoon’s Grapefruit League opener against Detroit. It’s unclear how many of the Orioles’ regulars will be making the trip, however look for Jimenez on the mound!