Carlos Carrasco: The Head Hunter

Background Information

What do Sal Maglie and Carlos Carrasco have in common? Yes, they both were Indians pitchers. They were also notorious for head hunting. The term "headhunting" is used when a pitcher throws the ball at a batter with the intent to hit them. It is extremely hard to believe that someone could get so angry and purposefully throw a ball at someone. 

Former Indian Ray Chapman - Victim of a Fatal Beanball

Ray Chapman was only doing what he was paid to do when noted head hunter Carl Mays made a terrible decision. The noise made by the ball hitting Chapman's head was so loud, that Mays thought it hit his bat. Mays caught the ball as it came back and threw it to first. Chapman collapsed to the ground with blood coming out of his left ear. Mays never left the mound even after Chapman was rushed to the hospital. Chapman died 12 hours later from a skull fracture. 

Accidental or Intentional?

Lets look at Mays' track record.

• He hit Ty Cobb every single time we came up to bat during a single game. Cobb threw his bat in the direction of Mays and cursed. That prompted Mays to curse back at him. After order was restored, Mays threw a pitch that hit him directly in the wrist. 
• He blamed the umpire for not noticing the rough spot on the ball that hit Chapman. 
• He blamed Chapman for not ducking
• Accused of purposefully losing in exchange for money

In my opinion, I believe it was both intentional and accidental. He meant to hit Chapman but not kill him. For the record, Mays never had any punishment. 

Carlos Carrasco- Confirmed Head Hunter

Incident 1: Carrasco vs. Butler

He claimed the ball slipped. I thinks it is funny that this occurred right after Melky Cabrera hit a grand slam. Even people in the dugout knew it was intentional. His form is perfect. His follow-through is the same as it normally is. Carrasco got in a shouting match with Jeff Francoeur. At the time, Francoeur was a catcher for the Royals. Now he is on the Indians 40 man roster. Tim Belcher, Indian's pitching coach, cornered Carrasco and told him that he doesn't condone that behavior. Carrasco was suspended 5 games and fined 3,000 dollars. He delayed his suspension by getting Tommy John surgery. In his first game back, he did the exact same thing.

Incident 2: Carrasco vs. Youkilis

Once again Carlos let his anger get the best of him. This was his first game back after his suspension was over. There are some obvious similarities in this incident. He was frustrated because Robinson Cano had just hit a home run to make the score 7-0. He then decided to hit Kevin Youkilis in the back. He said it slipped. Surprise surprise! Terri Francona acknowledged that it didn't look good. He was given an 8 game suspension.

You would think that we would get rid of him. This gives the Indians as a team, a bad image. It is very hard to respect someone that does that. 

In this case, I believe his so called "slips" are 100% intentional. 

Is Suspension Enough?

Personally, I can't see how a person can learn their lesson if suspension is short. You have to be out of your mind to suspend someone for 5 games after throwing a ball at someones head. That's not going to do any good. As far as Carrasco, he should be given a harsher punishment seeing as it didn't teach him a lesson.

Serious injuries caused by being hit by a pitch

• Tony Conigliaro- shattered cheekbone and lost sight in his eye
• Kirby Puckett- broken jaw and  Glaucoma (ended his career)
• Mike Piazza- concussion
• Dickie Thon- partially blinded (ended his career)
• Mike Jorgenson- hit in the head and suffered a nearly fatal seizure (ended his career)
• Mickey Cochrane- unconscious for 10 days and had a broken skull (ended his career)
• Jason Heyward- broken jaw