Larry Baer

Giants president/CEO Larry Baer has been suspended without pay through July 1st of 2019, per an announcement from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. His preexisting leave of absence will be converted to an unpaid suspension, meaning the cumulative suspension will be for 120 days.

The discipline was applied after the league reviewed the facts surrounding a public altercation that was captured on video. In the course of a verbal argument, Baer attempted to retrieve a cell phone from his wife, causing her to fall to the ground. He is not expected to face criminal charges in relation to the incident.

Manfred says that he met with Baer and reviewed the results of an investigation into the matter. The suspension was arrived at upon the conclusion that Baer’s “conduct was unacceptable under MLB policies and warrants discipline,” with the length of the term set based upon the view that Baer “should be held to a higher standard because as a leader he is expected to be a role model for others in his organization and community.”

Notably, the commissioner’s statement does not specify that Baer was suspended pursuant to the league’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. That policy, which applies to Baer and all MLB owners, players, and personnel, has been pointed to as the underlying grounds for discipline in recent player suspensions. Manfred’s statement does make clear that Baer will be totally precluded from involvement with the club during his suspension.

There are some potential long-term ramifications here from an organizational perspective. The Giants announced (Twitter link) that Baer will return to his position. However, the organization will not continue to utilize him as the designated control person vis-a-vis Major League Baseball. Ownership representative Rob Dean will continue to fulfill that role, as he has since Baer took a leave of absence, on an interim basis. A permanent control person will ultimately be designated, along with other unstated “changes to the Club’s corporate governance structure.”

There could also be a counseling component to the action. Per Manfred, “Baer will be required to undergo an evaluation by an expert to determine an appropriate treatment and counseling plan.” Baer released his own statement, as John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. He says that he “made a serious mistake” and will “seek professional advice” as part of a plan for “doing what it takes to earn the trust and respect of the many people impacted by my actions.” Baer also made clear that he will will not challenge the suspension.

March 4: The Giants announced Monday that Baer is taking a leave of absence. The team issued the following statement on the matter:

The Board of Directors of San Francisco Baseball Associates is closely monitoring the matter involving Giants President and CEO Larry Baer. Pursuant to League policy, Major League Baseball is taking the lead in gathering all facts surrounding the situation. The organization is cooperating fully with the process. Mr. Baer has acknowledged that his behavior was unacceptable, apologized to the organization and is committed to taking steps to make sure that this never happens again. He has also requested, and the Board has accepted, his request to take personal time away from the Giants beginning today. The Board has asked the Giants executive team to manage the day to day operations of the Club during this period, reporting directly to the Board. As leaders in the community, we at the Giants hold ourselves to the highest standards and those standards will guide how we consider this matter moving forward. We have no further comment at this time.

March 1, 9:11pm: Pam Baer has also released a secondary statement through her attorney, detailing the incident: “I would like to clarify the events of today. My husband and I had an argument in public about which we are quite embarrassed. I took his cellphone. He wanted it back and I did not want to give it back. I started to get up and the chair I was sitting in began to tip. Due to an injury I sustained in my foot three days ago, I lost my balance. I did not sustain any injury based on what happened today. Larry and I always have been and still are happily married.”

8:03pm: Larry Baer has released another statement, as per a Giants press release: “I am truly sorry for the pain that I have brought to my wife, children and to the organization. It is not reflective of the kind of a person that I aspire to be, but it happened and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that I never behave in such an inappropriate manner again.”

4:57pm: Giants chief executive officer Larry Baer was involved in an altercation with Pam Baer, his wife, earlier today at a downtown San Francisco public plaza, Matthias Gafni and Evan Sernoffsky of the San Francisco Chronicle report.  Video of the incident was captured by a bystander, and was made public by TMZ Sports (links to the video are included in the Chronicle’s piece).

Both of the Baers commented on the situation to the Chronicle.  Pam Baer described the incident as, “We were having a family fight about someone in my family and that’s it.”  Larry Baer went into slightly more detail, saying “My wife and I had an unfortunate public argument related to a family member and she had an injured foot and she fell off her chair in the course of the argument. The matter is resolved. It was a squabble over a cell phone. Obviously, it’s embarrassing.”

Through the Giants, the couple also released a joint statement to the media: “Regrettably today we had a heated argument in public over a family matter. We are deeply embarrassed by the situation and have resolved the issue.”

The league weighed in on the matter in another statement, saying “Major League Baseball is aware of the incident and, just like any other situation like this, will immediately begin to gather the facts. We will have no further comment until this process is completed.”  Larry Baer (like all MLB owners, players, and personnel) is subject to the joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy introduced by Major League Baseball and the players’ union in 2015.