Rogers Apologizes

[Balta1701]

I still don't think he should play in Detroit.

 

Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers on Wednesday apologized for last week's tirade against two TV cameramen that left one of them in the hospital.

 

Rogers, who is appealing his 20-game suspension for the outburst, apologized to fans and the cameramen in his first public comments since the June 29 incident. He declined to take questions, and said he was speaking against the advice of his lawyer.

 

"I feel compelled to come before you and express my deep regret for my actions," he said. "The incident should have never occurred."

 

Rogers lashed out at the cameramen as they filmed him walking to the field for pregame stretching. A day earlier, he ordered cameras turned off around him in the clubhouse. The incident was captured on videotape and led to KDFW cameraman Larry Rodriguez being treated at a hospital.

 

Rodriguez filed an assault report, and Arlington police spokeswoman Christy Gilfour said Wednesday that the case was still under investigation.

 

"I should have acted professionally, and I regret that was not the case," Rogers said. "I am deeply disappointed. ... this incident was completely out of character, and I think you know it will never happen again."

 

The suspension was among the most severe imposed by the commissioner's office for on-field conduct in decades. Only the 30-day penalty given Cincinnati manager Pete Rose in 1988 for pushing umpire Dave Pallone was longer.

 

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig suspended Rogers and fined him $50,000, but the players' association appealed the penalty, allowing Rogers to continue playing until after a hearing and a decision. Rogers was selected as an All-Star for the third time Sunday.

 

Rogers, a 40-year-old left-hander, was drafted by the Rangers in 1982, and has spent 12 major league seasons with the team for which he threw a perfect game in 1994. He became the first pitcher with three stints in Texas when he signed a two-year, $6 million contract before last season.