His teammates must be certainly glad he did.
Willingham had the best game of any Oakland Athletics hitter this season, driving in five runs and batting 2 for 4 with a home run in Oakland's 7-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.
Thing is, he wasn't even supposed to play in the game.�MLB issued a one-game suspension to Willingham earlier in the day for "inappropriate conduct" in Saturday's game versus the Royals. Called out on strikes to end the top half of the eighth, Willingham showed a pretty short fuse, throwing his helmet to the ground and getting right in the face of home plate umpire Bill Miller.
However, what likely drew the hammer from MLB was Willingham bumping Miller as he argued. Upon contact, Miller immediately held up his arms in a "Whoa ? what are you doing? No touchy!" gesture.
Willingham didn't believe he initated contact with Miller, and thus filed an appeal. But it may have been more than righteous indignation that compelled the A's left fielder to keep himself in the lineup on Monday. A's manager Bob Geren wanted an all-righty lineup to face the Rangers' C.J. Wilson. And in their first meeting of the season, Willingham batted 2 for 4 against Wilson.
But Willingham isn't the only batter who found delaying his penalty worked out to his benefit. On Saturday, the Tampa Bay Rays' B.J. Upton filed an appeal just hours after receiving a two-game suspension and $1,500 fine for arguing an ejection in a game on Wednesday. Like Willingham, Upton objected to being called out on strikes, threw down his helmet and immediately confronted home plate ump Chad Fairchild, pointing and yelling at him.
Surely making matters worse in MLB's eyes was Upton refusing to leave the field, continuing to go after Fairchild even after being held back by third base coach Tom Foley and bench coach Dave Martinez.
Upton seemed to accept that he'll eventually serve his suspension. But before he sat down for two games, he wanted to hit in Baltimore's Camden Yards.
From the St. Petersburg Times' Marc Topkin:
"I don't plan on taking (the two game suspension)�here,'' Upton said. "Probably in Cleveland ... I like hitting in this park, I guess.''
The man knows what he's talking about. After filing the appeal, Upton went 3 for 5 with a homer, two doubles and three RBIs in the Rays' 8-2 win over the Orioles on Saturday. That raised Upton's career numbers at Camden Yards to .297/.350/.535. His nine home runs and 31 RBIs are the most he has at any road ballpark.
Rays manager Joe Maddon certainly didn't have a problem with Upton's decision to play.
"I'm glad we did that," Maddon said with a grin. "A really great day. Good at-bats. He looked good, he looked comfortable. A big part of our win."
Adding to Upton's comfort was seeing Jeremy Guthrie on the mound for the O's. In 36 career at-bats versus Guthrie, Upton has 11 hits, two home runs and 12 RBIs. (The only pitcher Upton has more hits against is Roy Halladay, with 15.)
Has appealing suspensions become the new way for teams to get an offensive boost? Well, not exactly. Check the opposing matchups first, and it will probably become clear whether a player decides to immediately take his medicine from MLB or hold off for just a bit.
Poppy Montgomery Evangeline Lilly Lisa Marie Keira Knightley Monica Keena
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