Monday, July 2, 2012

Former Vernon Viper Nyjer Morgan Says Incident With Fan Nothing Major:

Former Vernon Vipers defenceman Nyjer Morgan chased down a foul fly ball Wednesday ended up tangled up with a Reds fan before pushing him away while exchanging words.  Morgan played as an "AP" as a 16 year old with the Vipers during the (1996-1997) season. Morgan was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 33rd round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, On September 1, 2007, Morgan in his second season with the Brewers is with his third major league team Pittsburgh, Washington & Milwaukee.

Nyjer Morgan's Player Profile:

http://brewers.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=460579#gameType='S'§ionType=career&statType=1&season=2012

Here is the video,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHp3jzst5Q4

This is posted on the Brewers website:

Morgan says incident with fan 'nothing major'

Brewers outfielder gets tangled with Reds backer, has words

By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com | 06/27/12

CINCINNATI -- Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan downplayed his brief encounter with a fan during the ninth inning of Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Morgan chased a foul fly ball down the right-field line and tangled arms with a fan in the front row. Morgan pushed away, then had some words with the fan before umpire Marty Foster urged him to return to his position.

"It's just one of those things where we were tangled up; I could have made a play on the ball," Morgan said. "I just gave him a little, 'Get off me,' because he was all on my arm and everything. Nothing major, but everybody might blow it up a little differently."

Morgan said the fan had some choice words for him after the non-play, and Morgan responded. That brought other Reds fans in the same section of seats into the discussion.

Both Morgan and Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said the fan did his job, disrupting an opponent from making a catch.

"That's what the home fans are supposed to do, try to take the ball from the opposing team when the ball is in the stands," Morgan said. "It's fair game once the ball is in the stands."

He added: "It was nothing major. ... I'm a fan, too. I would have done the same thing."

Morgan has more than 88,000 followers on Twitter (@TheRealTPlush) and is a fan favorite in Milwaukee, but he has a knack for riling fans on the road. In the span of 10 days in 2010, he was suspended a total of 15 days for throwing a ball into the stands at Philadelphia and for his role in a brawl in Miami. Last year, San Francisco fans let Morgan have it after what he calls a misinterpreted hand signal to the center-field bleachers, and St. Louis fans reacted to Morgan's part in a series of disputes with the Cardinals.

Wednesday's interaction capped an interesting day for Morgan, whose misplay of a fly ball in the third inning contributed to one of the two earned runs against Brewers starter Zack Greinke. In the seventh, Morgan couldn't get to a low-and-away pitch on a suicide-squeeze play, leaving Cody Ransom out between third base and home.

"I just couldn't get to the ball because the ball was scraping the dirt," Morgan said.

"He should have tried to bunt at it," Roenicke said. "He did some interesting things today."

Roenicke had a discussion with Morgan on a couple of topics but said he had not seen video of the play in the ninth inning. He did not view it as an issue.

"He's trying to do everything he can to help us win," Roenicke said. "He's trying to create some things, and sometimes you just have to let them happen. His effort and his mindset are in the right place."

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