Former Atlanta Braves GM John Coppolella, pictured here in 2015, was recently reinstated by baseball … [+]
In November 2017, baseball commissioner Rob Manfred issued the sport’s version of a career death sentence to then Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella after a league investigation determined the Braves executive had violated baseball rules on signing international amateur prospects.
Coppolella’s lifetime ban from Major League Baseball put him in ignominious company, as he joined the likes of baseball’s career hit king, Pete Rose (gambling), the eight 1919 Black Sox players (game-fixing/gambling), former Cardinals executive Chris Correa ( computer hacking) and former New York Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia (performance-enhancing drug use), although Mejia was eventually reinstated in 2018.
But in the five-plus years since he was placed on MLB’s permanent ineligible list, Coppolella demonstrated to Manfred and other baseball officials that he had taken the necessary constructive steps in his professional and personal life to warrant consideration for a return.
The Athletic was first to report Manfred’s decision earlier this month to lift Coppolella’s lifetime suspension and reinstate the 44-year-old. The league and Coppolella separately confirmed the move.
“We can confirm that Mr. Coppolella has been reinstated, given the more than five years he spent on the ineligible list, the contrition he expressed and the other steps he took in response to this matter,” MLB said in a statement.
When contacted, Coppolella said he did not want to comment any further on the process, except to express his gratitude and thanks to MLB and four officials in particular: Manfred, deputy commissioner Dan Halem, deputy general counsel Moira Weinberg and executive vice president of legal and operations, Bryan Seeley.
Coppolella had already issued a brief statement to the Athletic: “I deeply regret and accept accountability for my actions. I want to apologize again to the Atlanta Braves organization, Major League Baseball, its fans, and especially my family and friends. I am grateful for this decision and will strive each day to honor this opportunity.”
Coppolella and then Braves international scouting chief and special assistant Gordon Blakeley were determined by MLB to have broken rules governing the international market business and the amount of capped bonus pool money clubs can spend on amateur international prospects. One example of a rules violation by the Braves was the club reporting a more lucrative bonus for a lower-tier prospect and then channeling part of that money amount to a top prospect who had originally signed for less.
Blakeley was suspended a year by Manfred. In addition to the punishments given to Coppolella and Blakeley, the Braves organization was also hit with sanctions, including MLB voiding the contracts of nine international player prospects.
Whether Coppolella eventually returns to baseball as an executive or in some other capacity remains to be seen, but he now has a second chance. The same can’t be said for Rose. The former Cincinnati Reds player and manager’s application for reinstatement was denied by Manfred in December 2015. Rose filed another petition with the commissioner in 2020.
Then there is the disparate nature of the punishments Manfred has doled out to other individuals who have violated baseball rules or collectively-bargained policies. The Braves’ scandal and the subsequent discipline of Coppolella and Blakeley occurred during the same year as the Houston Astros’ World Series championship run. A league investigation later revealed that the Astros used an illegal electronic sign-stealing scheme to cheat their way to the 2017 World Series title.
But while the MLB final report on the Astros’ scandal named several team players and bench coach Alex Cora as complicit in the scheme, the only people disciplined by Manfred were manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow, who both received year-long suspensions. The club was not stripped of its 2017 World Series title and players on that ’17 Astros team were granted immunity for their cooperation in the league probe.
Hinch is now the Tigers manager.
More recently, Manfred handed pitcher Trevor Bauer a record 324-game suspension for violating the Joint Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault policy. Bauer appealed and an independent arbitrator reduced the ban to 194 games.
Still, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Bauer’s employer throughout his paid administrative leave and suspension, designated him for assignment after the arbitrator’s ruling. The Dodgers severed ties even though they still owe the right-hander $22.5 million.
Mejia was a three-time offender of the Joint Drug policy and earned a lifetime ban as a result, but he was reinstated in 2018. The Mets cut ties with Mejia anyway. He never returned to the majors. Correa, the former Cardinals executive, still carries a lifetime ban and he also was sentenced to a 46-month federal prison term after he pleaded guilty to “unauthorized access of a protected computer” in the same hacking case.
In a statement to ESPN in December 2017, after he had received his lifetime ban, Coppolella showed remorse and apologized for his mistakes.
“I have been disgraced and humbled, and I will strive for the rest of my life to live honorably so that this is not my defining moment,” read the final part of Coppolella’s 2017 statement.
With the reversal of fortune, he gets to potentially write a new baseball chapter.
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