Chuck Knoblauch's Active On Twitter Again, Takes Shot At Former Teammate

[Parker Hageman]

Former Minnesota Twins' player Chuck Knoblauch has been using his Twitter account again on a regular basis and took the opportunity to throw shade at the recent announcement that the New York Yankees will retire Andy Pettite's number 46:

 

https://twitter.com/chuckknoblauch/status/567154579192565760

 

Like Knoblauch, Pettitte was also implicated on the Mitchell Report for using HGH, which the pitcher confessed to in 2007. Knoblauch, on the other hand, never fully confessed to his usage of the banned substances.  

 

In the aftermath, Knoblauch would wind up engaging people who questioned why the second baseman would attack a former team member who, you know, aided in getting the infielder multiple World Series rings.

 

 

Since his retirement, Knoblauch has been relatively reclusive from the game and was arrested for domestic assault. The Star Tribune's Amelia Rayno was able to procure an interview with him after he left the game and discussed her encounter with Knoblauch during a recent No Juice Podcast. 

[tobi0040]

What a fall.  What a fall. This is par for the course.

[Ben Noble]

What a fall.  What a fall. This is par for the course.

I'd actually call this relatively minor compared to some of the other garbage he's pulled. But what a fall is right. Chuck Knoblauch just makes me sad.

[Seth Stohs]

I'm glad Knoblauch wrote this over the weekend. I kind of wish someone more credible did though too. Good for him. I couldn't possibly care less who did or didn't use steroids. But it is funny that Knoblauch, Bonds, McGwire, Clemens are hate, meanwhile Giambi, Pettitte and Ortiz are loved by many. 

[nicksaviking]

It is a double standard, and like you said, crapping on Pettite would sound better if it came from a clean player. Still, it's hard to see Chucky's retort as anything more than sour grapes.

 

Knablauch's trade got the Twins some good players, but another unforeseen benefit now seems clear, almost none of his tarnished legacy rubs off on the Twins. He's a Yankee problem.

[Nick Nelson]

I'm glad Knoblauch wrote this over the weekend. I kind of wish someone more credible did though too. Good for him. I couldn't possibly care less who did or didn't use steroids. But it is funny that Knoblauch, Bonds, McGwire, Clemens are hate, meanwhile Giambi, Pettitte and Ortiz are loved by many. 

I think the lesson is that if you own up to something, or at the very least act like a decent human being, you'll get more leniency and benefit of the doubt. I don't have any problem with that. 

[jimmer]

I think the lesson is that if you own up to something, or at the very least act like a decent human being, you'll get more leniency and benefit of the doubt. I don't have any problem with that. 

He owned up to it only after he was caught and he only admitted to doing it the time for which he was caught. Then he changed his statement regarding Clemens.

[ashbury]

I did not realize someone could get the yips while using Twitter.

[Brock Beauchamp]

He owned up to it only after he was caught and he only admitted to doing it the time for which he was caught. Then he changed his statement regarding Clemens.

Some people are smart enough to build up "goodwill equity" with the public. Pettitte is one of those people.

 

If you're nice to the media and fans for a decade before you do something wrong, you're going to be treated differently than a guy who was a dick to the media for a decade.

 

And I'm okay with that.

[tobi0040]

Some people are smart enough to build up "goodwill equity" with the public. Pettitte is one of those people.

 

If you're nice to the media and fans for a decade before you do something wrong, you're going to be treated differently than a guy who was a dick to the media for a decade.

 

And I'm okay with that.

 

Spot on.  Bonds for example was a jerk to the media (and everyone else).  When something went wrong they really, really wanted to see him fall.

[Thrylos]

I don't care about Pettitte and I think that the Yankees are maybe sending the wrong message by retiring his number (or at least a message that conflicts with their treatment of A-Rod) but I feel sad for Knoblauch.   Seems like a bitter bitter man, not unlike Canseco when he wrote that book.

[bird]

If I was czar, er, commissioner, I'd have a policy: no player is bestowed a single award of any kind during their own lifetime if they've been found to be a cheater. Don't let the ******** enjoy more adulation.

 

Then, I'd also have a policy that no player, once they're dead, will be denied an award on the basis of gambling or drugging. Posthumous and asterisked. Let the fans savor their baseball memories and history.

[biggentleben]

If I was czar, er, commissioner, I'd have a policy: no player is bestowed a single award of any kind during their own lifetime if they've been found to be a cheater. Don't let the ******** enjoy more adulation.

 

Then, I'd also have a policy that no player, once they're dead, will be denied an award on the basis of gambling or drugging. Posthumous and asterisked. Let the fans savor their baseball memories and history.

So guys like Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Hank Aaron should never have received an award? Interesting...

[USAFChief]

The world was a better place without Twitter.

[twinsnorth49]

Everyone is  entitled to an opinion. Some are just worth more than others.

[Dr. Evil]

Say what you will about Knobby. I have good memories about his compete level and intensity during his time with the Twins. Sure the kid has had his issues during and after is Twins days. But, I find it hard to forget the good memories he gave me. We all have our problems. Myself included. I wish him the best.

[tobi0040]

If I was czar, er, commissioner, I'd have a policy: no player is bestowed a single award of any kind during their own lifetime if they've been found to be a cheater. Don't let the ******** enjoy more adulation.

 

Then, I'd also have a policy that no player, once they're dead, will be denied an award on the basis of gambling or drugging. Posthumous and asterisked. Let the fans savor their baseball memories and history.

 

My personal opinion is drugging and gambling are two different things entirely (assuming they were not betting against their team and throwing the games).  In the case of Pete Rose,  the evidence suggests he was only betting on his team to win.

 

If a guy wants to put a few G's on his team winning, I don't have a huge issue with it. The fact that the MLB rules punishes a guy permanantly for betting on his team to win but you have guys like Nelson Cruz still in the league and signing huge deals when it is fact they cheated is really bizarre to me.

 

I get why MLB may want to discourage betting as you can get guys behind and owing bookies, or taking the signals of an insider to bet themselves....but why is this hurting the integrity of the game more than a juiced player?

 

 

MLB Rule:

 

Major League Baseball Rule 21(d) is clear. Here is the relevant portion:

Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/08/why-pete-rose-still-cant-be-absolved/378866/

[Don't Feed the Greed Guy]

File this one under "consider the source." Baseball imitates life, in that we get to watch how athletes, managers, organization and their fans react/respond to victory and defeat. We also get to see how players come up in the minors, prepare in the offseason (five days until pitchers & catchers report!!), and how they handle retirement when the game passes them by.

 

The grand old game is an interesting microcosm that we enter into when we buy a ticket, or teach our children how to play catch in the backyard. These players become household names when our sons and daughters ride their bikes down to the five-and-dime to buy a pack of baseball cards (or the checkout at Wal-Mart).

 

Baseball has a certain morality. The rules of baseball create ethical absolutes. I like that. That's why this "twitter feed" is so fascinating. Neither Knoblauch nor Pettite get to be righteous. Both were spectacular talents, who allegedly broke the rules. Both won multiple World Series rings--as part of a team game. But there is still a place for class, dignity, contrition, respect--just as there is room for slander, abuse, name-calling, and pettiness. At least it seems Pettite is not petty.  

[gunnarthor]

Former Minnesota Twins' player Chuck Knoblauch has been using his Twitter account again on a regular basis and took the opportunity to throw shade at the recent announcement that the New York Yankees will retire Andy Pettite's number 46:

 

 

Like Knoblauch, Pettitte was also implicated on the Mitchell Report for using HGH, which the pitcher confessed to in 2007. Knoblauch, on the other hand, never fully confessed to his usage of the banned substances.  

 

 

I think you are giving Pettitte far too much credit.  He only admitted to what had been publicly revealed and was caught lying about that twice.

 

"We want to think the best of him. Everybody does. People seem to see Pettitte as a generally honest and minor character in baseball’s PED scandal. Ask a moderate baseball fan who was named in the Mitchell Report — Sammy Sosa or Andy Pettitte? I’m thinking most will say Sosa, which is the wrong answer. Ask any baseball fan which pitcher denied using HGH, admitted using only twice but never more, admitted later than he actually used it another time, and I suspect Pettitte will not be the first guess."

 

I'm glad Knobby did this.  Pettitte cheated and made millions for it.  He made the competition unfair and that hurt other teams, including the Twins, whom he killed in the post season.  Yankees want to honor a POS like that, fine.  But it's also good that people are reminded what a POS he is in the first place.

[Parker Hageman]

I think you are giving Pettitte far too much credit.  He only admitted to what had been publicly revealed and was caught lying about that twice.

 

 

I'm not giving anyone anything other than stating the fact that Pettitte admitted to it. Knoblauch still has not.  

[Dr. Evil]

Did Pettitte one day out of the blue have an epiphany of morality and volunteer the information by coming forward at his own will? Or did it come out in an investigation and he admitted to as little as he could in order to get past the situation? I honestly don't remember how it went down.  

[jimmer]

Did Pettitte one day out of the blue have an epiphany of morality and volunteer the information by coming forward at his own will? Or did it come out in an investigation and he admitted to as little as he could in order to get past the situation? I honestly don't remember how it went down.  

The latter :-)

[Dr. Evil]

Then I would say that he is no more holy for having admitted it.

[Dr. Evil]

Also, I can see why it annoys Knobby that he is willing to step up and accept this current honor.

[ashbury]

Also, I can see why it annoys Knobby that he is willing to step up and accept this current honor.

I can also see why someone would decide to keep the annoyance to himself and maybe some close friends who won't misinterpret.

[TheLeviathan]

I hate Twitter and refuse to use it, but I will say this:

 

Sometimes it's nice to see dirtbags humiliating each other.  This whole exchange is a good reminder that Knoblauch is still a jerk and Pettite gets way too much of a pass for basically being a narc interested in saving his own rear-end in the court of pubic opinion.  

 

Being a nice cheater who only came clean under legal duress doesn't give him much of a pass IMO.  Sure, he's not in the Bonds category, but sometimes I think he's closer to the Jeter category than Bonds and it shouldn't be that way.

[Dr. Evil]

Forgive Pete Rose.

[USAFChief]

Forgive Pete Rose.

Off topic, but I disagree strongly.

 

Betting on baseball,by baseball personnel, undermines the very integrity of the game in a way vastly worse than PEDs.

 

PEDs are wrong, and constitute cheating. But their use does nothing to make me question whether the outcome of any game was decided by anything other than the play on the field.

 

Betting does just the opposite. And once people stop believing the outcome, you have pro wrestling.

 

I don't care if Pete Rose only bet on the Reds to win. He still potentially did enormous damage to the game, and the HOF will be just fine without him, IMO.

[nicksaviking]

I can also see why someone would decide to keep the annoyance to himself and maybe some close friends who won't misinterpret.

That would suppose that Knoblauch still has friends. And that we are misinterpreting his bitterness.

 

But anything that sullies those sacred pinstripes is just fine by me!

[h2oface]

I came to Twins Daily and "The View" broke out.  The horror of it all!

 

And I learned that some don't mind cheaters and long as the are nice.... whatever that means.  Nice Cheater. So nice.