First Alex Rodriguez took to the airwaves to drum up venom for Bud Selig, and now he has hit the court system, too.
Team A-Rod amended its lawsuit against Selig and Major League Baseball on Tuesday in order to update its legal audience on what went down last week during Rodriguez’s appeal hearing against MLB regarding his 211-game suspension — as well as provide some visual goodies supporting its argument MLB’s CEO and investigators have been morally compromised.
The updated briefing contains myriad new fighting words against the commissioner, whom independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz ruled on Nov. 20 didn’t have to testify in the hearing. That ruling prompted Rodriguez to storm out of the proceedings at MLB’s Park Avenue headquarters, rip Selig in an interview with WFAN’s Mike Francesa and essentially shut down his defense.
“Despite the fact that he (a) signed the Notice of Discipline imposing a 211 game suspension on Mr. Rodriguez; (b) deemed it acceptable to go on David Letterman’s show in July and joke about a looming suspension of Mr. Rodriguez; and (c) publicly defended MLB’s investigation during the World Series, Mr. Selig chose to hide in his office in Milwaukee rather than come testify at the hearing grievance hearing in New York,” the updated suit reads. “In Mr. Selig’s world, apparently the “buck” does not stop with Bud.”
The suit continues: “Mr. Selig lacked the courage of his convictions to explain under oath the reasons for the suspension and the conduct of his investigators. His silence on these issues speaks volumes and leads to just one logical conclusion — his actions, and those of the MLB personnel he controls, were aimed at destroying the reputation, career and business prospects of Alex Rodriguez.”
Above a photo of Selig posing with a fan who wears an “A-ROID” T-shirt and Reds cap, the suit concludes this section: “Sadly, this cowardly stance by Mr. Selig is consistent with his past and highly inappropriate conduct in posing, smilingly, with a young fan wearing a T-shirt with a derogatory message at Mr. Rodriguez.”
MLB declined comment on the matter. It successfully kept Selig from testifying last week by contending COO Rob Manfred’s testimony regarding the suspension should suffice.
In addition to the reaction to the Selig news, Team A-Rod also added details on MLB’s Department of Investigations, which has been one of the group’s prime targets. Dan Mullin, the department’s senior vice president, testified during the appeal hearing he engaged in a sexual relationship with a female employee of Biogenesis (the shuttered South Florida anti-aging clinic from which Rodriguez allegedly purchased illegal performance-enhancing drugs). Mullin had denied this allegation when Rodriguez first lodged it, and MLB backed him up on the denial.
According to the lawsuit, Mullin and his fellow MLB investigator Ed Maldonado — one of many other MLB officials accused of wrongdoing by Team A-Rod — interviewed the employee, Lorraine Delgadillo, on Feb. 13. The next day, the lawsuit reads, “Ms. Delgadillo unexpectedly received flowers at her home from Mullin, with a card thanking her for her help.”
A copy of the card, scanned onto the lawsuit, reads, indeed, “Thank you for all of your help,” with Mullin’s signature. The updated lawsuit also cites a Post report from Oct. 7 which detailed how Mullin, while working as a deputy inspector for the NYPD, was probed for shady tactics.
The revised suit also professes Team A-Rod has a signed affidavit from Robert Miller, a purported friend of MLB’s star witness Anthony Bosch (the owner of Biogenesis), which asserts MLB is paying Bosch $5 million to cooperate. The Post reported in October Miller is a convicted drug dealer.
Rodriguez’s legal team originally filed the suit in state court on Oct. 4, and MLB successfully moved it to federal court. Judge Lorna Schofield has scheduled a conference between the two sides for Jan. 23 to further discuss the case.
By then, of course, Horowitz likely will have issued his ruling — and if he upholds all or part of the suspension, then Team A-Rod likely will try to get an injunction to block the suspension.
— Rich Calder contributed to this story.