Knocked down, BP pitcher throws Phillies a legal curve

When the 2011 baseball season ended, Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro fired Ali Modami, the team’s batting practice pitcher. Now Modami has filed a $100,000 defamation suit against Amaro and the team.

Modami claims Amaro told him he was being let go because the Phillies wanted to go in a “different direction,” “changing up the hitting program.” But after interviewing unsuccessfully with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals, Modami suspected Amaro was attempting to black-ball him from Major League Baseball.

According to his lawsuit, Modami alleges Amaro told Dodgers and Nationals executives that Modami had been stealing memorabilia from the Phillies clubhouse and selling it. Modami claims he learned of Amaro’s alleged comments from former Phillies first-base coach Davey Lopes, now a Dodgers coach, and former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, who now plays for the Nationals.