Minnesota Twins outfielder recently sent four bottles of Dom Perignon to the Kansas City Royals to thank them for beating the Detroit Tigers last year which allowed the Twins to win the division.
A blog called "The Cheater's Guide to Baseball," discovered this and reported that this gift is actually a violation of MLB rules.
Rule 21-b states "Any player or person connected with a Club who shall offer or give any gift or reward to a player or person connected with another Club for services rendered ... in defeating or attempting to defeat a competing Club ... shall be declared ineligible for not less than three years."
Normally I like to play Devil's Advocate but I really can't see the logic behind this rule. Unless for example the Yankees had a standing policy to give $10,000 to a pitcher on another team who beat the Red Sox. But in this circumstance, Hunter's actions were innocent.
The Royals had not popped the bubbly yet so they will return the bottles to avoid the infraction. Hunter says he was unaware of the rule, but ignorance is not a plea. Hopefully, baseball will not act, not even with a small fine but I know some douchebag sticklers will probably call for Hunter to be subject to a three year ban.
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