Jim Leyland, old if not old-school, piles on Cole Hamels

Everyone already knows by now that Cole Hamels got himself suspended for publicly admitting he beaned Nationals star Bryce Harper during a nationally-televised game Sunday night. But despite Hamels receiving a suspension of five games yesterday, some baseball people are still trying to pile on.

Take Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland, an old-time baseball coach who, for whatever reasons, joined the choir of people who think plunking hitters has suddenly gotten deadly.

Leyland even suggested that Hamels be suspended 15 games.

“Way to light, I don’t know the man, I know he’s a very good pitcher, a very talented guy, but when you come out and admit [hitting Harper intentionally] like that — that ball could have missed, hit him in the head or something else like that — and you come out and admit that, I think five games is way too light, in my personal opinion. I felt the way I read it, and I don’t know if the kid meant it this way, but it was almost like a braggadocious thing. That’s not enough. There’s no way.” Leyland told the Detroit Free-Press earlier today.