Tampa Bay Rays' Luke Scott signs with Korean baseball team

The SK Wyverns announced Thursday they've signed Major League Baseball veteran Luke Scott to a one-year contract.

The Incheon-based Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team said they inked the 35-year-old veteran for US$250,000, along with a signing bonus of $50,000.

Scott made his big league debut with the Houston Astros in 2005 and most recently played with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013.

He batted .241 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 91 games. For his nine-year career, Scott has hit 135 homers with a .258 batting average in 889 games.

He hit more than 20 homers in three straight seasons starting in 2008, all with the Baltimore Orioles.

Scott is the first foreign player to join the KBO with more than 100 career MLB home runs.

The Wyverns said Scott, along with extra-base power, has a good eye at the plate and has the ability to get on base. He has a career on-base percentage of .340.

Scott has played all three outfield positions and first base over his career.

Last week, the KBO decided to add an extra roster spot for foreign players on each team. Teams can now acquire up to three players from overseas, with two of them able to play at the same time. The two expansion teams, the NC Dinos and the KT Wiz, can have a maximum of four foreign players on their active rosters for their first two KBO seasons.

The Wyverns have now filled up their quota of three foreign players. They've retained left-handed starter Jo-Jo Reyes from last season and signed right-hander Ross Wolf to replace the departing southpaw Chris Seddon.

Luke Scott has more anti-Red Sox sentiment

During the offseason Luke Scott changed from one AL East to another as he left the Baltimore Orioles for the Tampa Bay Rays. When he got to Tampa he relived the moment he had as a member of the Orioles when they knocked the Boston Red Sox out of the playoffs on the last night of the season. In the process Scott had some anti-Red Sox sentiment as he revealed how he felt about the Red Sox fans.

The Rays are taking on the Red Sox this weekend and Scott still isn't afraid to speak his mind. In an interview with Scott Chastain of MLB.com, Scott revealed how he felt about historic Fenway Park.



“As a baseball player, going [to Fenway Park] to work, it’s a dump,” Scott told Scott Chastain of MLB.com earlier this week. “I mean, it’s old. It does have a great feel and nostalgia, but at the end of the day, I’d rather be at a good facility where I can get my work in. A place where I can go hit in the cage. Where I have space and it’s a little more comfortable to come to work.


“You’re packed in like sardines there. It’s hard to get your work in. ... You have to go to their weight room if you want to lift. From a fan’s perspective, it’s probably pretty cool to go see a game at a historic park. But from a player’s point of view, it’s not a place where you want to go to work.”


Scott once again fans the flames with his disdain for the Boston Red Sox.

Luke Scott takes shots at Red Sox fans

The Boston Red Sox choked away the American League wild card last season, which made for a joyous celebration in Tampa, Florida. But the Tampa Bay Rays weren't the only team celebrating that final night of the season. The Baltimore Orioles were doing their part by taking out the Red Sox on the final night and celebrating when the Rays came back to beat the New York Yankees.

Former Oriole Luke Scott was injured for the last game, but he took much pleasure in the Red Sox not making the playoffs. Scott became a Rays fan for those last few hours of the 2011 season.


"I'd already had [right-shoulder] surgery, so I was in the clubhouse during the game," Scott said. "The guys were battling. I was sitting in the clubhouse watching the game with some of my teammates, guys that weren't playing. We were following back and forth.


"We were pulling for Tampa Bay. They were down, 7-0, and we were like, 'Dang-it, we've got to beat Boston, so we can force this playoff.' And then the next thing you know the score [in St. Petersburg is] 7-6. Then it's 7-7. And we're going into the ninth against one of the best closers in the game."


Scott isn't one to hold his tongue though and had some parting shots for Red Sox fans. I'll say this, he doesn't like them very much.

"Just their arrogance," Scott said. "The fans come in and they take over the city. They're ruthless. They're vulgar. They cause trouble. They talk about your family. Swear at you. Who likes that? When people do that, it just gives you more incentive to beat them. Then when things like [the last game of last season] happen, you celebrate even more. You go to St. Louis -- classiest fans in the game. You do well, there's no vulgarity. You know what? You don't wish them bad."


"The clubhouse afterward was like we'd just won the World Series -- a lot of celebrating, a lot of high emotions," Scott said.


"Everybody's giving high-fives, then all of a sudden [Longoria] homers," Scott said. "Everybody's in the clubhouse and it's like, Bam! And we're like, 'Go home Boston! Pack your bags. See you next year."


I guess a last place team does have some kind of emotion, even though I don't think Buck Showalter had the Orioles packing it in. Scott fired more shots at the Sox fans.

"I got to see a priceless thing driving back to my apartment," Scott said. "I see all the Boston fans walking around, and I mean they were crying crocodile tears. People were like this, walking side by side."


Scott wrapped his arm around a reporter's waist and began to wail to demonstrate.


"It was like someone shot their dog. I rolled down the window and I'm like, 'Ah, hah, sucks doesn't it, when someone laughs or makes fun of you when things aren't going your way.'" 


I can hear him saying that in a Boston accent. Scott isn't one of the best players in the game, but I'm sure he'll get showered with boos and more when the Rays visit Boston. It should make for interesting theater this season.

Luke Scott Still Challenging President Obama's Authenticity

Since President Barack Obama ran for office many have questioned his place of birth. I'm not going to go into my personal thoughts about this topic, except that no one has ever had their authenticity questioned more than President Obama.

Luke Scott of the Baltimore Orioles still think that the President of the United States is a phony. In an article by Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, Scott voices his opinion on the recent turn of events where  President Obama's birth certificate was produced.


“(President Obama’s) birth certificate has yet to be validated,” he is saying.

“If they can counterfeit $100 bills, I think it’s a million times easier to counterfeit a birth certificate, if you ask me,” Scott says. “So, all it is, let’s just see if it’s real. Anybody can produce a document, so let’s check it out.”

This is a story I would like to see die.









 

What's With The Orioles Luke Scott Throwing Banana Chips

The Baltimore Orioles Luke Scott should really be careful about his choice of words. His opinions are his opinions, like Barack Obama not being born in the United States. But when you start throwing banana chips at a Dominican teammate (Felix Pie) and saying he acts like a savage, you're treading into dangerous waters.

“Felix is my friend,” he says. “I give him a hard time. The reason why I give him a hard time is because there are certain people you deal with and you go up and talk to them, and it doesn’t work. They don’t understand. … I tell him about some of the ways he’s acted: ‘Look, you’re acting like an animal, you’re acting like a savage.’”



He also explained why he throws banana chips into the helmet of his Dominican teammate.


“Here are my banana chips to remind him that whenever he acts like an animal, ‘Hey, that’s what other people are thinking. They’re just not telling you, but that’s what they’re thinking about. And I’m telling you so that you’re aware of that so you can make a cognitive decision to not behave like that.’”

I don't know how friendly they are but someone should explain to Pie that those particular actions might be borderline. I'll stop short of calling Scott a racist, because I believe he isn't. He just needs a better choice of words and actions. Maybe it's one of those locker rooms where everything goes, who knows. Remember John Rocker thought the same thing and wasn't well received in his after what he said.