Minor League Coach Has Major Meltdown

June 4, 2007 — -- Chicago White Sox manager Lou Piniella learns today how long Major League Baseball will suspend him after this weekend's dirt-kicking, umpire-bumping tirade.

But major on-field meltdowns don't just happen in the big leagues, they happen on fields all over the country. As the midpoint of the baseball season approaches, many managers and coaches are losing their cool.

Phillip Wellman, manager for the minor league Mississippi Braves, was ejected from his team's game June 1 after he became irate over a pitch and buried home plate in dirt and literally stole third base.

Just when the crowd thought he was out of steam, Wellman began crawling on his belly behind the pitchers mound, like he was behind enemy lines, and lobbed a rosin bag at the home plate umpire as if it were a hand grenade.

Video of the performance has gotten hundreds of thousands of hits on YouTube, making the once unknown minor league manager a major Internet superstar.

Wellman seems to be following in the footsteps of his fellow managers and coaches. Last year, minor league manager Joe Mikulik of the Asheville Tourists put on a similar show. And one of the all-time master dirt-kickers, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was ejected this weekend for the 73rd time.

"There are some times where managers make a fiery statement hoping that their team will catch some of their passion," said syndicated talk show host and author Mitch Albom.

Wellman said that's what he was trying to do Friday.

"We were in a position to win all those ballgames and we didn't come through," he said. "We've been a little shorthanded here the past week."

Coaches in all sports have gone a little crazy to fire up their teams. College basketball's chair-throwing coach Bobby Knight and former NFL coach Mike Ditka have let their passions cross the line.

But some wonder what the boys and girls of summer, who can watch these tirades over and over on the Internet, are learning from these outbursts.

"If you play the game correctly and fairly and quietly and with dignity, yeah, maybe your mother is proud of you but it's not the fastest way to become famous. I think that is a dangerous message we are sending," Albom said.

The other message: Sometimes the adults are the ones who really need to grow up.

There's been no word yet on a suspension for Wellman, but the Chicago Cubs' Piniella has been suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount for making contact with the umpire.