01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 27, 2006

BY PAUL KENYON
Journal Sports Writer

PAWTUCKET -- The prospect watch at McCoy Stadium took a strange, unexpected and even scary turn in the wrong direction last night.

A Pawtucket-Durham game that began with the focus on the starting pitchers -- top prospects Jon Lester and Jason Hammel -- became memorable for all the wrong reasons. In one of the weirdest scenes in any game in any league, Durham outfielder Delmon Young, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, flipped his bat and hit the home-plate umpire in the chest after striking out in the first. Since the umpire had a chest protector on, he was not hurt.

Even without their star, Durham beat Pawtucket, 6-2.

The victory, though, could be very costly for Durham, the parent Tampa Bay Devil Rays and, especially, for the highly touted Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the baseball draft in 2003.

Batting with two on and no outs in the top of the first, Young was called on out strikes. As Pawtucket catcher Corky Miller stepped in front of the plate to make sure the runners stayed where they were, Young lingered at the plate.

"I heard the umpire say, you better get going," said Miller, who thought the strike call was correct. "I turned around and saw he was still in the box. I didn't hear him say anything. I think he took a little too much time."

As Young began to walk away, the umpire ejected him. Young was four or five steps away when he realized he had been thrown out. He turned and flipped the bat underhanded at the umpire. The bat was going end over end as it struck the umpire in the chest and shoulder.

The situation was further complicated because the plate umpire, like all umps in minor-league baseball, is a replacement. The normal International League umpires are on strike. Because of reported threats against the replacements, their names are not being given out.

Reporters were not allowed to speak to any of the three last night. Rather, Daryl Jasper, Pawtucket's assistant general manager, met after the game with the plate ump and obtained a statement.

"It's an unfortunate incident and there should be no place for actions like that in the game of baseball," the umpire said. "Any official should not be treated like that; [Young] embarrassed himself and his teammates."

Durham manager John Tamargo was reluctant to speak about the situation.

"It was unfortunate and until I speak with the organization and see what they have in mind, then maybe we could comment on it later," Tamargo said. "It's a tough situation right now. We're just going to wait and see what the organization says and what's going to happen."

Tamargo said he had not spoken to Young. Young was not around after the game. He left the park before the game was finished. Tamargo said he has not had any problems with Young before. He intimated that having replacement umpires compounded the situation.

"We've had some problems with different umpires," Tamargo said. "It's tough. There's . . . I can't say any more."

Young almost certainly faces a suspension. Roberto Alomar was given a five-game suspension for spitting at umpire John Hirschbeck. Carl Everett was suspended 10 games for bumping an umpire. Young's incident, since it involved a thrown bat, was more serious than those.

Young was the top pick in the draft in 2003 and singed for a $3.7-million bonus. He has risen rapidly through the minors in the last two years and is currently listed on a number of lists as the best prospect in all of minor-league baseball.

The spectators behind home plate who witnessed the incident included Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and Ben Cherington, the team's vice president and director of player personnel. They came to see Lester, the starter and loser for Pawtucket. Elijah Dukes, another of Tampa's top prospects, clouted two home runs, to lead the Bulls to victory.

The decision on how to handle Young's situation rests with Randy Mobley, International League president.

pkenyon@projo.com / (401) 277-7340