Latest On Atlanta Braves’ Outfielder Hector Olivera

Baseball’s Domestic Violence Policy:  Still Being Unwrapped

The policy was rolled out in August last year, and has already been pulled out for 3 other cases:

• Yasiel Puig – no discipline was issued for a fight was alleged to have been involved in at a Miami bar last November.  Video evidence seems to show that the Puig was not a participant in the “massive” brawl.
• Jose Reyes – In October, Jose Reyes assaulted his wife at a Maui hotel, causing facial, neck and leg injuries.  Charges have been dropped in this case due to his wife “declining to cooperate” with prosecutors.  MLB penalties are still pending.
• Aroldis Chapman – this is a bit more odd.  Chapman’s girlfriend claimed that he had choked and pushed her after becoming upset over something on her cellphone.  Photos of her at the time do not seem to indicate any marks or bruises.  Chapman denied hurting her, but is also accused of going to his garage and firing off several rounds of bullets, seemingly in anger or frustration.  MLB nonetheless suspended Chapman for 30 days to begin this season.

The Legal Stuff

Misdemeanor Assault and Battery in the state of the Virginia is a Class 1 offense, and carries a maximum 1 year of jail time with $2,500 fine and victim restitution.  If Olivera even ‘touched’ the woman, regardless of whether that would have caused the bruising, then this would be sufficient to bring a charge of battery.

Defenses against this would include consent and accident.  The victim’s conduct is not a defense, though could be used to mitigate later penalties.

Domestic assault is a separate law, though involves a family or household member (likely not applicable here).

The Dirty Numbers Involved

Because this would be a first-time offense for Olivera, it is indeed likely that he would avoid jail time, though an MLB suspension would seem quite likely at this point.  If the injuries are indeed limited to bruising, then I would hazard a guess of something in the 60-90 day range… probably a bit less than whatever Jose Reyes ends up receiving.

Olivera is under contract through the year 2020.  Baseball is not likely to just void this deal, nor is Atlanta likely to release him, either.  They are already paying over $34 million to players not playing for them this season (chiefly Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn).

You can argue that there is a principle here, and you would be correct.  The Braves could choose to stick by those principles and oust Olivera.  But as a still-productive player, he has some on-field value for his contract.  This is in sharp contrast to Swisher, Bourn, and Dan Uggla from the last couple of seasons.

Olivera’s own actions from here will also go a long way in determining his future as an Atlanta Brave.  While public sentiment is certainly going to be against him, if he were to “own” his failures, accept responsibility, and issue apologies, then he could put the issue behind him and choose to start the healing process with all parties concerned:  the victim first if she is receptive, and then his teammates and fans.

One More Precedent

While assaults, particularly those ‘domestic’ in nature, are neither to be excused or taken lightly, many Braves’ fans have allowed at least one incident involving a team hero to be forgiven.

During their 1995 World Series Championship season, manager Bobby Cox was himself arrested for a curiously similar-sounding incident involving his wife Pamela.

Next: The Prospects are Already Prospering

Many more days will still have to advance before we see how this event plays out with Hector Olivera.