That Jason Kendall, He’ll Never Learn

Call me crazy, but I think a trend is starting to develop here.

Oakland A’s catcher Jason Kendall dropped his appeal of the four game suspension he received after charging Anaheim’s John Lackey on May 2. And then he called out Major League Baseball.

Kendall said that baseball had turned into a badminton league and apparently feels that if a pitcher yells at you, it is within your rights to attack him.

Obviously, Jason is all about setting the right examples. He’s the type of guy that thinks its okay for students to assault teachers when they give detention or for workers to smack around fellow employees when the copy machine isn’t copying.

The suspension for fighting is Kendall’s fourth of his career with the last one coming in August 2004. Not surprisingly, he has attempted to appeal the rulings each time. And why not? I mean there’s no way it was ever actually his fault, right?

Two years ago, he tried to beat up Colorado Rockies pitcher Joe Kennedy not because Kennedy drilled him in the arm, but because he yelled at him afterwards. Clearly, Kendall is sensitive when it comes to words. I’d hate to be the dude that called him gay when they were kids.

A year earlier, Kendall was handed a three game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That time, Marlon Anderson put his hands on Kendall which was more than enough to throw Anderson in the “Boston Crab” until he tapped out.

In 1998, he and Gary Sheffield went at it after Sheffield knocked off his helmet. Kendall fought dirty in that one, using his shin guard to open up a cut near Sheff’s eye.

He was also suspended once for two games after bumping an umpire and disputing a call. His comments after that were very similar to the ones he made yesterday.

"It was a heat-of-the-battle thing," Kendall said. "The next day, the umpire and I were fine. Everybody's trying to change the game now. ... It was just one of those things that happens in baseball."

It’s too bad everyone has gone and changed the game now. I for one hope that Kendall keeps on throwing hands when looked at funny. Baseball needs more of those ruthless Ty Cobb throwbacks.

Kendall rips baseball after dropping his appeal of his four-game suspension - Yahoo