Ex-pitcher records win in court, hangs onto $1.5M termination award

A former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher won in court when a New Jersey appeals court upheld his $1.5 million award in a termination dispute.

Mitch Williams, a former Phillies closer also known by his nickname “Wild Thing,” was terminated from his on-air analyst job at the MLB Network in 2014 over allegations of misconduct at a youth baseball game, the Daily Mail of London reported.

According to the report, Mr. Williams was in his third year of a five-year contract with the network when two articles were published alleging he swore at umpires and ordered a boy to throw a ball at an opposing pitcher at a baseball tournament of 10-year-olds.

Mr. Williams denied the allegations, and the fact that no audio or video recorded at the game could confirm the accusations presented another curveball for the network, which fired him in June 2014.

In 2017, a jury held that the network was off base when it terminated Mr. Williams, awarding him $1.5 million, which the appeals court affirmed, said the article.

According to the Daily Mail, the network is reviewing the ruling and assessing whether it wants to take this case into extra innings.