Alomar Should Not Wait Till Next Year

You don’t punish a child the next week for breaking a window. You don’t spank the dog the next day for chewing up one of your wingtips. Why should baseball wait until next year to punish Roberto Alomar? What he did was inexcusable, and his suspension should begin immediately. If anybody thinks today’s fan will be satisfied by giving Mr. Alomar five games off at the beginning of next season, baseball really is out of touch with the ticket-buying public.

JEFF SMART

Newport Beach

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Roberto Alomar may be the most hated baseball player in the country right now, but he has performed a useful purpose by reminding millions of former baseball fans like me why they are former baseball fans.

STEVEN B. CHESSER

La Crescenta

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I am not one who boycotts or who advocates the same, but when a school district can brand a 6-year-old boy for sexual harassment but major league baseball cannot find the nerve to suspend Roberto Alomar, well, I will not watch one more inning of the postseason. If their answer is “It’s the rules,” tough! This game is no longer the game I loved as a youth. I’m outta here!

JAMES CURTISS

Redlands

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Only a five-day suspension for Alomar! He’s lucky. In the Eddie Mayo spitting incident in the early ‘40s, Mayo, the third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League, was suspended for a year for doing the same thing. Memories!

VAL RODRIGUEZ

Signal Hill

Editor’s note: During Mayo’s appeal hearing, it was later determined that he had not spit on the umpire and his suspension was lifted.

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I was watching ESPN’s “SportsCenter” with my 7-year-old son when the story describing, and accompanying video depicting, Mr. Alomar’s spitting on the umpire was broadcast. My son asked me why he did it and what was going to happen to him. I told him that no matter what excuse Mr. Alomar gave, it did not justify his actions. I further told him that the league president would decide the punishment, which would probably be severe, as in my 25 years as a baseball fan I could not remember such a vulgar and disrespectful act taking place on the baseball field.

Two days later, the five-game suspension of Mr. Alomar was announced. My son’s question was, “Is that his only punishment for spitting in another person’s face?” Can you imagine the reaction of the PTA or teachers’ union if a student spit in a teacher’s face?

I do not look for baseball to provide guidance to my child. However, I hope you reconsider your treatment of Mr. Alomar and punish him in a way that dignifies the game and sends a clear and convincing message to all young fans, that such vulgar actions of disrespect will not be tolerated.

CHARLES G. CARLUCCIO

Los Angeles