Wrapping up one of the weirdest former Cub stories in recent memory, Mike Montgomery is getting a 20-game suspension over in the KBO for his rosin-chucking incident.
The suspension, and the incident, if you missed it:
Mike Montgomery has been suspended 20 games and fined for hitting an umpire with a rosin bag during the Samsung Lions game in the KBO last Friday.
There are 35 games remaining in the regular season. https://t.co/XWjjWBgP40
— Infield Fly Girl (@infieldflygrl) September 14, 2021
Former #Cubs LHP Mike Montgomery made a run at home-plate umpire and threw a rosin bag and connected. He was warned about ‘12 second pitch rule’ and maybe that’s why he got upset? Highly unlikely that he’s going throw another pitch in #KBO after this. #SamsungLions pic.twitter.com/OXE8ITlFEm
— Daniel Kim 대니얼 김 (@DanielKimW) September 10, 2021
I’m actually shocked that the suspension wasn’t much longer given that he literally threw something and hit an umpire at close range. I figured his season would be over, at a minimum. It may yet be, because it’s possible his team won’t welcome him back after this incident, but officially, he’s only going to miss, what, four starts?
Montgomery, 32, is most famous for getting THE FINAL OUT for the Cubs, but he was a more than serviceable swingman outside of that moment. He got off to a rough start to the 2019 season, though, and was ultimately traded at midseason to the Royals for Martin Maldonado (who was shortly thereafter traded for Tony Kemp, who was shortly thereafter traded for current Cub Alfonso Rivas). He never quite got back to par, and wound up in South Korea earlier this year an unsuccessful stint at Triple-A for the Yankees.
What happens next for Montgomery is anyone’s guess, though he has not pitched well in South Korea, and teams there might not want him back next year regardless. It’s a shame how swift and steep the decline was.