ESPN.com reported (here) that Washington Nationals outfielder Elijah Dukes was benched and fined $500 for being late to their game against the Florida Marlins on Saturday. The 24 year old Duke is set to make $415,500 this year, and he can more than cover the fine. But if the Nationals are waiting for a check from Dukes, they'll have to wait a long time. The Great Falls Little League will be paying the fine. Dukes was present to sign autographs and look at all the teams in the league. He spoke for a few minutes before heading over to his own game. But since this was not a Nationals' sponsored event, his GM and Manager were not happy with his lack of punctuality. GFLL President Jim Mraz (any relation to this guy?) had this to say on the matter: "The point is, this guy gave back to our community, and now he's in a hard spot. We need to help him. It's not a question of whether this guy can afford the 500 bucks. We're just trying to send a message to our kids: He was here for us. Now we've got to be there for him...ou're a little stunned. Like, 'Whoa, wait a minute.' Here's the game of baseball -- it's got steroids hanging over it, all these issues... Needless to say the Nats kind of need help with what they're doing. I could see if he was out trying to do something small or private, but he just came into my community and gave us a shot in the arm." I agree 100%. Dukes, who was remorseful about being tardy, was doing a nice thing. Even if it wasn't a team sponsored thing, how many times do you see MLB players or players from any sport for that matter go out and encourage kids in their communities ON THEIR OWN? Dukes was paid $500 for his appearance, but I don't think he did it for the money. Shame on you Washington Nationals-maybe if your players did more of these charitable appearances, you'd win a few games. I'm not sure how that would work, but hey, it's worth a shot.
