Domingo German has opened up about the “dark” day in which he flipped over furniture in the Yankees clubhouse last season.
German, who signed with the Pirates this offseason, told his side of the story for the first time in a profile with NJ.com.
While German was sent to rehab after the incident and was allegedly suspected by Yankees teammates to have been drunk during it, he denies that this was the case.
New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German #0 on the mound during the first inning versus the Mets in July of 2023.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
I didn’t drink anything that day,” German said. “I had a few drinks the night before, but I wasn’t incoherent (the next day). I knew exactly what I was doing that day of the game.”
Nonetheless, it was not a situation he was proud of.
“That was a dark day for me,” German said. “I couldn’t control my temper.”
The situation apparently began the day before, when German was abruptly pulled from a start due to arm soreness, but felt he could have pitched through it.
Things took a more bizarre turn when Jhony Brito, who was called up from Triple-A for the spot start, had a rough outing and German wound up coming into the game in relief and throwing five scoreless innings.
German admitted to having drank to soothe his frustration that night.
To make room for Brito on the roster, the Yankees sent down pitcher Ron Marinaccio, and the next day a Yankees teammate reportedly confronted German about insensitively playing loud music in Marinaccio’s presence as he was getting sent to the minors the day before.
After getting confronted and being told he had been “disrespectful” to his teammate, German responded by flipping over a couch and smashing a TV in the Yankees clubhouse.
“It was a really stupid situation,” German said. “Nobody told me that I wasn’t pitching (the night before). I was not informed. It had nothing to do with Marinaccio. I feel bad because I don’t treat my teammates that way. I don’t disrespect anyone. That’s why I got upset. I thought I was being disrespected, being painted in that light.”
New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German (0) throws a pitch during the fifth inning when the New York Yankees played the Tampa Bay Rays Monday, July 31, 2023 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY.Robert Sabo for NY Post
Marinaccio insisted that he had no beef with German over the loud music precursor to the clubhouse destruction incident.
“There’s no hard feelings from me to Domingo at all,” Marinaccio told the outlet. “I don’t think Domingo needs to apologize to me for anything. He never mocked me to my face. I did talk to some of the guys and heard that Domingo kind of lost it (the following day), but nobody said he was making fun of me.
“I’m always rooting for Domingo. From being a teammate, I thought that Domingo was always fun. He was always laughing. He was a good teammate to me.”
German insisted he was not drunk at the time of that incident, and that he does not have a drinking problem
“I drink when I want to drink, but I don’t have any problem,” German told NJ.com. “I can go a month or two months without drinking.”
As for why German went to rehab last season, he explained that he agreed to go because otherwise the Yankees would have withheld the roughly $870,000 remaining of his $2.6 million contract.
I went because the Yankees weren’t going to pay me,” German said. “I was told that I would be there for a month. My wife and family nudged me to go. They reminded me that I needed the money. My family told me, ‘You’re going to come out of here feeling better and you’re going to save your salary.’”
In 2020, German was suspended for 81 games by MLB after he was accused of domestic violence against his girlfriend, Mara, who would later become his wife, at a charity event to benefit former teammate CC Sabathia’s foundation.
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