Morgan might soon take a place alongside Belle as one of baseball's angriest men.
View full sizeThe Nationals' Nyjer Morgan (1) collides with Marlins catcher Brett Hayes at home plate on Aug. 31 in Miami. Morgan was out, and the collision has brought him plenty of notoriety.Who knew Washington's Nyjer Morgan was trying to be the next Albert Belle?
On Wednesday, Morgan charged Marlins right-hander Chris Volstad after Volstad threw behind him in the sixth inning to touch off a fight between the teams.
On Tuesday, Morgan slammed into Marlins catcher Brett Hayes, separating Hayes' left shoulder, in the 10th inning. If Morgan slid, he would have been safe, but Hayes held the ball and Morgan was out.
On Aug. 28, Morgan went out of his way to collide with St. Louis catcher Bryan Anderson, earning a benching from manager Jim Riggleman, who said Morgan was mad at him because he was hitting eighth. On Aug. 21, Morgan allegedly threw a ball into the stands at Philadelphia's Citizen Bank Park and hit a fan in the head. MLB suspended him for seven games for the incident, but he appealed and has been running amok since.
MLB hit Morgan with an eight-game suspension Friday following its initial seven-game suspension. Even Belle, the Indians' ill-tempered former slugger, never earned what could be a 15-game suspension. All Morgan has to do is get caught with a corked bat, run down some trick-or-treaters in his car, give TV broadcaster Hannah Storm a hard time during the postseason and pulverize the thermostat in the Nats locker room, and he'll be able to take his place alongside Belle as one of baseball's angriest men.