Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan is currently serving an eight-game suspension for a string of violent and unsportsmanlike acts that culminated with a benches-clearing brawl on September 1 at the Marlins’ Sun Life Stadium. Those incidents tarnished his image somewhat in the public eye, and he’s hoping to make things right.
Morgan was excused from a seven-game punishment for accidentally throwing a ball at a fan at Philadelphia’s Citizen Bank Park in mid-August, but he contacted that fan this week anyway and invited him to Sunday’s Nationals vs. Phillies game.
According to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, Morgan gave the fan a free ticket behind the Nats’ dugout in Philly and a pregame field pass.
He declined to talk to the media about the generous gesture, a hint that it probably was sincere.
Morgan, 30, is batting .258/.318/.318 this season with 23 RBI and 33 stolen bases in 128 games this season. He has been watching games from the Nationals’ general manager box with Mike Rizzo and is eligible to return to the club’s starting lineup on September 25.