Demagogue

A pro baseball player who is playing minor league ball for a farm club of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays has been suspended indefinitely for throwing a bat that hit an umpire in the chest earlier this week. The player, Delmon Young, not only issued an apology, but it was a real apology.

As much as I have complained on this blog about public figures who issue phony apologies, it's worth recognizing that some of them are capable of truly apologizing.

This was Young's apology:

"I sincerely regret my actions in the game yesterday. Regrettably, in the heat of the competition my emotions got the better of me.

"My behaviour was completely unacceptable. I want everyone to know that I recognize that it is never right to throw a bat and I certainly never intended for the bat to make contact with the umpire. Nevertheless, I owe an apology to my team, the fans and most importantly to the umpire, for the incident. I am sorry."

Wow. His apology didn't contain a single "if." Amazing.