Mike Clevinger: Selfish, Reckless, Inexcusable

Cleveland Baseball Club pitcher Mike Clevinger hid the fact that he left the team hotel in Chicago and proceeded to fly home with the team.

Thoughtless. Selfish. Reckless. Inexcusable. Pick one of those words and it perfectly describes the actions of Mike Clevinger. Clevinger violated team protocols while in Chicago, going out with fellow pitcher Zach Plesac. Plesac was sent home Sunday in a rental car while Clevinger did not own up to his mistake and proceeded to fly home with the team. The problem is that Plesac was isolated from everyone else while Clevinger, who committed the same violations as Plesac, acted like nothing happened and boarded a plane with his teammates. The actions and subsequent non-actions of Clevinger may have compromised the safety of the rest of the team.

Right now it is perfectly acceptable to wonder if Clevinger’s teammates have his trust. Clevinger made a big deal about trust on and off the field less than two weeks ago.

“Having that trust in your teammates is a big thing. It’s a big thing on the field. If you feel your teammate doesn’t trust you off the field, how are you going to feel like he trusts you when you get between the lines?”

Mike Clevinger on July 30th

The fact of the matter is that none of Clevinger’s teammates should trust him right now. Clevinger violated team safety protocols and essentially gave a giant middle finger to the entire team. Same goes for Zach Plesac. There is not one player in the clubhouse that should have any trust in either player right now. Trust is something that goes both ways in when someone acts in a thoughtless, selfish, reckless, and inexcusable manner they should lose all trust they previously had. It will take a long time for those players to truly earn back that trust and it is fair to wonder if they ever will.