After Rick Hahn concluded his introductory comments to today’s first workout for pitchers and catchers in Glendale, Mike Clevinger followed with his own media session a few hours later. While much briefer than Hahn’s statements, Clevinger discussed the ongoing MLB investigation into allegations of domestic violence and child abuse while also mentioning how he has managed things with his teammates thus far.
Here are some of the key points from Clevinger’s media session.
Clevinger addressed the team prior to today’s workout
Both Rick Hahn and Mike Clevinger confirmed that before workouts began for the club today in Glendale that Clevinger did in fact address his teammates about the allegations of domestic violence and child abuse that resulted in an ongoing investigation from MLB.
“I’ll keep the talk in the clubhouse, but I just wanted to share my sentiment to them about how bad I felt that this is how I’m starting out, this is how they’re meeting me, for a lot of guys who don’t know me. I didn’t want their first day at camp to be answering questions about this nonsense.”
Clevinger expressed that he was “pretty disappointed to have to start off this way” as part of his opening comments to the media. He later added: “This is pretty devastating to me and my family. And I know I feel terrible for all my teammates having to answer questions.”
Clevinger maintains his innocence, believes he will be exonerated by MLB
In addition to sharing that he spoke to the team today, Clevinger himself also maintained his innocence, believing that the investigation will lead to his exoneration.
“I trust the process of MLB, I really do and I think there’s a reason I’m sitting here in front of you today. I’m just asking everyone to wait before they rush to judgment. Wait till the actual facts are out there, wait till there is actual evidence, and then make your decision of who you think I am.”
Clevinger later added, “This is about my children that I care more about than even this game.”
Beyond maintaining his innocence, Clevinger – at the advice of his lawyers and MLB – declined to comment much further on his situation, besides calling it “embarrassing.” On an interesting note, according to NBC Sports Chicago, Clevinger did claim that he was unaware that the investigation by Major League Baseball was still ongoing:
“This was going on for seven months. I didn’t even know it was still going on, to be honest.”
As a reminder, only Major League Baseball is able to punish Mike Clevinger – or any player under domestic violence allegations – via the collective bargaining agreement. This is the biggest reason why Clevinger’s status with the team remains unchanged, and per Pedro Grifol, Clevinger remains a projected member of the starting rotation.
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