Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez might be feeling the heat a little bit.
Last week, he was ejected from a Braves-Yankees Spring Training game in the first inning for arguing a call on Shelby Miller’s first pitch of the game.
This weekend, he wanted to “promote trust” with his team, and brought in a motivational speaker name Donnie Moore to smash a cement block on his chest.
Yes, you read that properly. Here’s the video and a couple of key quotes from MLB.com.
“He had done it before and he knew what he was doing,” Gonzalez responded when asked if he was scared. “I think the last thing in his mind was to hurt somebody. At the end of the day, if he’s going to hurt somebody, I’d rather him hurt me than one of the players.”
In addition to promoting trust with this exercise, Moore captivated the players by cracking three baseball bats, running straight through two 2X4 pieces of lumber and tearing two phone books in half. These actions simply bolstered his theme, which was that anything can be accomplished with proper preparation and a positive mind-set.
Well then. That doesn’t seem desperate or bizarre at all.
Just don’t let any of the Braves players try to perform any of Moore’s stunts. The last thing this team needs is another player that will start the year on the DL.
[MLB.com]
