Yankees: Domingo German couldn’t even get his prepared apology right

Seventeen months later, New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German finally addressed the media and his teammates regarding the domestic violence incident that got him placed on administrative leave and subsequently suspended for all of 2020.

German was initially scheduled to speak to the media on Monday, but new troubling details about his behavior surfaced that morning. When that happened, he postponed the media session and it was apparently rescheduled for Wednesday.

The Yankees are relying on the right-hander to fill a much-needed void in the starting rotation, but even the most optimistic of fans could be questioning that. German, by the time April arrives, will not have pitched in a Major League game in 19 months.

Also, not to be overly critical, but he’s shown very little as a player across his 55 career games. Everyone understands the need for pitching depth, but why attempt to fulfill that goal if it carries a significant distraction or a ton of baggage?

Yankees pitcher Domingo German apologized on Wednesday, but it totally missed the mark.

Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly improve when he addressed the media on Wednesday. German spoke in Spanish through a translator and spent the entire time reading his prepared statement from a piece of paper. He hardly looked up, he showed no emotion.

But worst of all? He spent most of the time apologizing to the Yankees organization and his teammates. He didn’t say a word about his girlfriend, who was the alleged victim of his actions.

He never acknowledged what he was apologizing for, either. He just expressed remorse for “mistakes” that he’s “not proud of” (we’re not sure what mistakes one would be proud of, but that’s beside the point). He also touched upon his behavior on social media, which took the spotlight as of late, acknowledging that he hasn’t used the platform in an appropriate way.

That makes everything all the more confusing in regards to his last post because he later mentioned he’s still with his girlfriend.

But the details of his relationship don’t really matter. The fact that he issued the “Alex Bregman apology” by reading directly from a script with next to no outward remorse after having nearly a year and a half to formulate a response could very well be labeled as disrespectful.

Also, apologizing to the owner, general manager and manager does nothing to make amends for one’s transgressions. German was found guilty by Major League Baseball for violating the joint Domestic Violence policy. This is about taking responsibility for your actions and expressing remorse toward the person/people that you hurt.

Yes, German in theory hurt his team, but in the grand scheme of things that’s the last aspect of this that matters.

Can we sympathize with the fact that German is in a foreign country, addressing people that do not speak the same language, and is talking about a very touchy and difficult subject? Absolutely.

But the man is going to be 29 years old in a few months. He’s an adult. And he’s had plenty of time to think this over, craft a sincere response/apology, face the music, and move on. Not only did he take a year and a half to do that, but he failed to deliver thanks to his lack of expression and overall matter-of-factness when it came to an extremely sensitive subject that requires empathy.

This situation continues to look worse and worse for the Yankees, and it’s hard to say that’s a biased viewpoint.

Domingo German’s release is imperative for Yankees to avoid distractions

The New York Yankees simply need to accept their fate and release Domingo German because they cannot afford a single unwanted distraction in 2021.