OC Register: Court reinstates defamation lawsuit against Angels, MLB

[AngelsWin.com]

A defamation lawsuit filed against the Angels and Major League Baseball will be allowed to proceed after an Orange County Appeals court on Wednesday overturned a year-old decision.

Bubba Harkins, who was fired by the Angels in March 2020, sued the team and MLB for defamation stemming from publicity surrounding his dismissal. Harkins contends that the team and MLB made comments suggesting that he was providing “illegal” substances that pitchers were applying to baseballs, and also that he was primarily helping Angels opponents. Harkins said his reputation was damaged to the point that he was unable to find another job in baseball.

In January 2021, the Orange County Superior Court Judge Geoffrey T. Glass dismissed the suit, ruling that Harkins had not shown sufficient evidence of defamation. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel overturned that decision.

Harkins had worked for the Angels in various capacities for 38 years, most recently as the visiting clubhouse manager. In that role, his job was to cater to the needs of visiting players, but he also worked closely with Angels players, especially during spring training.

Harkins contends it was common knowledge throughout baseball that pitchers used sticky substances to improve their grip on the ball, even though baseball rules prohibited such use.

In his suit, Harkins named a handful of well-known major league pitchers who had used his substances, including Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer. He also said Angels pitchers such as Dylan Bundy, Cam Bedrosian and Keynan Middleton used the substances.

More than a year after Harkins was fired, Major League Baseball began a more serious crackdown on the use of foreign substances. In the middle of the 2021 season, umpires began searching pitchers’ caps and gloves as they walked off the field, looking for signs of any substances that could be used to tamper with the baseball.

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[jsnpritchett]

[Docwaukee]

perhaps the Angels should focus on getting a new legal team over pitching.  

[tdawg87]

God this organization sucks.

[T.G.]

The Angels are switching TV contracts from Bally to Bravo and will launch a new reality TV show... "The Moreno's" - Kim Kardashian will be the Executive Producer. 

[Taylor]

2 hours ago, True Grich said:

The Angels are switching TV contracts from Bally to Bravo and will launch a new reality TV show... "The Moreno's" - Kim Kardashian will be the Executive Producer. 

Hopefully The Real Housewives of AngelsWin is included in the deal.

[Stradling]

Does anyone care about this?

[Blarg]

As much as you do about the CBA. 

[Taylor]

13 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Does anyone care about this?

Not as much as I care about Spring Training starting on time.

[Blarg]

It's February when pitchers, catchers and law suits arrive early. 

[T.G.]

1 hour ago, Stradling said:

Does anyone care about this?

Not really...

but the "off the baseball field" news seems to be quite prevalent with the Angels.

Edited February 3, 2022 by True Grich

[mmc]

 

[jsnpritchett]

14 minutes ago, mmc said:

 

Wrong thread. (Admittedly, though, it's hard to keep all the lawsuits and court cases against involving the Angels straight...)

[AngelsLakersFan]

18 hours ago, Dochalo said:

perhaps the Angels should focus on getting a new legal team over pitching.  

Where do you think all the money we'd ear marked for pitching went?

[failos]

3 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Where do you think all the money we'd ear marked for pitching went?

I think we all know the answer to that.

 

Spoiler

Hint: it starts with the letter “y.”

 

[Taylor]

8 hours ago, failos said:

I think we all know the answer to that.

 

  Hide contents

Hint: it starts with the letter “y.”

 

Yemen?

[HanfordGuy]

15 hours ago, failos said:

I think we all know the answer to that.

 

  Hide contents

Hint: it starts with the letter “y.”

 

I think I would like to solve the puzzle Pat… Is it “Yachts”?

[Blarg]

3 minutes ago, HanfordGuy said:

I think I would like to solve the puzzle Pat… Is it “Yachts”?

Oh, I'm sorry. It's @yk9001. 

[HanfordGuy]

On 2/2/2022 at 8:24 PM, AngelsWin.com said:

Harkins contends that the team and MLB made comments suggesting that he was providing “illegal” substances that pitchers were applying to baseballs, and also that he was primarily helping Angels opponents. Harkins said his reputation was damaged to the point that he was unable to find another job in baseball.

 

Harkins’ argument is, “I gave the guys what they wanted and besides… all the kids are doing it nowadays. I didn’t get no complaints from X,Y and Z so give me my job or dignity  back.” What new evidence did the 3 judge panel hear or see that they overturned the original decision?

[BattleBorn]

We need to find a new vendor for our "Sticky Stuff" as we aren't getting the same results as those listed.

[AngelsFaninGA]

22 hours ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Where do you think all the money we'd ear marked for pitching went?

Pfft, it clearly went to the scouting department

[tdawg87]

23 minutes ago, BattleBorn said:

We need to find a new vendor for our "Sticky Stuff" as we aren't getting the same results as those listed.

Gross.

[HanfordGuy]

41 minutes ago, BattleBorn said:

We need to find a new vendor for our "Sticky Stuff" as we aren't getting the same results as those listed.

 

17 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Gross.

[Taylor]

HanfordGuy is king of references.

[failos]

13 hours ago, Taylor said:

Yemen?

Yeah, that actually works, but the real answer is yachts, mang.