An arbitration hearing between the Yankees and P Dellin Betances "got contentious Saturday, so much so that Yankees president Randy Levine held a news conference to air his grievances with Betances’ representatives -- after the arbiters ruled in favor of the team," according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSPORTS.com. Betances, who requested $5M in arbitration, will instead earn $3M. Levine accused Betances’ agents at Excel Sports Management of "trying to use Betances to 'change the marketplace' for setup relievers by rewarding them with salaries suited for closers." Levine added that would be like him claiming, “I’m not the president of the Yankees, I’m an astronaut.” MLBPA Senior Advisor to the Exec Dir Rick Shapiro said, "For the president of the Yankees to say the things he said is totally unprecedented in salary-arbitration history, an absolute disgrace to the arbitration process and to all of Major League Baseball. The only thing that has been unprecedented in the last 36 hours is that a club official, after winning a case, called a news conference to effectively gloat about his victory -- that’s unprecedented." Excel agent Jim Murray, who reps Betances, said, "We are not going to be bullied by the Yankees team president. His statements are reprehensible and outright false" (FOXSPORTS.com, 2/18). In N.Y., Billy Witz noted Levine "celebrated with the audacity of a bat flip." Murray said, "He might as well be an astronaut because I don't think that anybody on this planet would agree with what he's saying. ... A team president holding a press conference after winning an arbitration case? That’s a new one for me. If you talked to anyone in the front office, they’d probably say they’re embarrassed." Betances said, "They take me in a room, and they trash me for about an hour and a half. I thought that was unfair for me" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/19). In N.Y., George King III notes the Yankees were "assisted" in the hearing by Jackson Lewis Sports Practice Group Chair Greg Clifton, a former player agent (N.Y. POST, 2/19).
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT: Betances on Saturday said that he "will have to think about whether he will constantly be available to pitch multiple innings and in the middle of innings." Betances: "It is fair for me to say that." ESPN N.Y.'s Andrew Marchand noted arbitration is "known to cause harsh feelings, and the Yankees have a history of settling with players" (ESPNNY.com, 2/18). Betances spoke again yesterday and said, "I don't regret anything I said (Saturday). I had to get it off my chest and I did" (NEWSDAY, 2/20). Asked about having awkward situations with Levine in the future, Betances said, "You don't see him as much, so I don't know. I really don't know" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/20).
NO LOVE LOST: In N.Y., John Harper wrote the system is "outdated compared to the value that GMs now attach to setup relievers," so the Yankees "should have felt at least a little guilty about it." Instead, Levine "gloated over the victory on a conference call ... rubbing it in on Betances with arrogant, insulting quotes that spoke to either his ego or how tone deaf he could be." He "needlessly piled on, to some extent humiliating one of the most popular and likeable Yankee players" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/19). On Long Island, David Lennon wrote Levine launched a "shockingly vicious attack that also was completely unnecessary." Lennon: "So easy to avoid." Levine "chose to pour gasoline on the smoldering ashes" (NEWSDAY, 2/19). ESPN.com's Buster Olney wrote after the decision, the best action was for "everyone involved to shake hands at the net, so to speak, and move on." Levine "blasted away -- unnecessarily." Representatives of Betances "fired back -- unnecessarily -- especially given that Betances spoke for himself" (ESPN.com, 2/19). The DAILY NEWS noted after his comments about Betances, someone "decided to tweak" Levine's Wikipedia page. The edit reads, "Levine is also currently in astronaut training camp to go to Mars as an ambassador to America in the year 2018" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/19).
CAUSE FOR CONCERN? MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark said it was "troubling" that the arbitration hearing went public. Clark said it is "unprecedented and unprofessional, and should never have happened in the fashion it did" (USA TODAY, 2/20).
