I've been a Texas Rangers fan for a very long time, don't go to as many games as I used to; but did notice when they acquired Sidney Ponson from Aruba... I'd saved some clips of his past problems in case the name ever came up..
Twins say goodbye to struggling Ponsonhttp://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2869253http://www.aruba-zone.com/content/view/154/1/lang,en/Sidney Ponson! Thursday, 22 February 2007
Sidney PonsonSidney Ponson has made an impact on the Twins organization so far. Manager Ron Gardenhire even told the press yesterday that Sidney Ponson is expected to get a rotation spot even though he signed a minor league contract with the Twins. Sidney Ponson came into camp with e few pounds off, and as some reporters noted in the best shape in a couple of years.
Sidney Ponson stated that this off season he stayed away from his biggest problem, Aruba. What he meant is that in Aruba he knows many people and the lifestyle he lives by in Aruba is not the best for a Major League pitcher trying to revive his career. He told the press that this winter he spend most of his time in Florida, working out and got engaged to his girlfriend and is expected to marry in November.
Sidney Ponson is all smiles and manager Gardenhire states that Ponson is doing the right things. We from Aruba-Zone.com want to wish Sidney Ponson success in this new challenge and that hopefully he does win the rotation spot he wants.
Sidney Ponson was recently signed by the Texas Rangers Baseball
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3284921Rangers give Ponson shot to crack rotation#19 Sidney Ponson
Proper Name: Sidney Alton Ponson
Born: November 2, 1976
Noord, Aruba
Height: 6-1
Weight: 258 lbs.
Age: 31
Pronounced: pon-SONE Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Pos: SP
Experience: 10 years
College: Maria College (Aruba)
Ailing pitcher Sidney Ponson sent to Texas Rangers minor league camphttp://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AviKA92ytOEUzaOT45GYV16FCLcF?slug=ap-rangers-ponson&prov=ap&type=lgnsClips about court case in Aruba:http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05063/466292.stmBaseball Notebook: Ponson's assault case is postponed
Friday, March 04, 2005
By The Associated Press
The assault case against Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson was postponed yesterday in Oranjestad, Aruba, and a judge gave both sides until May 10 to reach an out-of-court agreement.
Ponson, 28, is accused of committing violence alone or in the company of others in public, kicking a person in the head and battering a person by hitting him in the face with his fist. If convicted, Ponson faces a maximum sentence of four years in jail, a fine and community service.
Judge Bob Wit, flown in from the nearby Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao to give the case a sense of impartiality, said he took the pitcher's career into consideration in postponing the case.
Wit said that Ponson's livelihood could be jeopardized if he has a criminal record because his U.S. work visa could be taken away. Ponson was born in Aruba, a semiautonomous Dutch Caribbean territory.
"The judge gave a type of cooperation very different from other cases, and for this we are grateful," Ponson's attorney, Chris Lejuez, said outside the courtroom.
Ponson did not make any comments to the media and his agent Barry Paver said the pitcher would return to Florida for spring training. Wit also ordered Ponson to make a considerable donation to a charitable organization in Aruba.
The man Ponson is accused of assaulting, a local judge, declined to comment.
Ponson allegedly punched the judge at a beach in Boca Catalina after several people confronted the pitcher, accusing him of harassing them with his personal watercraft and operating it recklessly.
The judge had minor injuries, authorities said. Ponson left the scene but police later detained him Dec. 25.
Ponson went 11-15 with a 5.30 ERA in 33 starts last season. He has played with the Orioles except for a brief stint with the San Francisco Giants in 2003. He became a free agent after that season and signed a $22.5 million, three-year contract with Baltimore.
Ponson has a 69-80 career record in seven seasons with a 4.67 ERA and 802 strikeouts in 210 games and 1,313 innings pitched.
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/bal/y2005/m03/d07/c959494.jspVisa issue sidelines Ponson03/07/2005 5:57 PM ET
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Orioles right-hander Sidney Ponson was scratched from his scheduled Spring Training start on Monday against the Marlins, and club officials are unsure when he's going to pitch in a Major League game again because of visa issues stemming from his court case last week in Aruba.
Ponson, who pitched in a simulated game instead, was given until May 10 to reach an out-of-court settlement with the victim of a Dec. 25 melee on an Aruban beach. Ponson apparently hit a judge during a confrontation and he received a suspended sentence on March 3 in Aruba.
He was ordered to settle with the victim, make a substantial contribution to an Aruban charity and perform community service.
Since the charges are not settled, Ponson was told by his agent, Barry Praver, on Sunday night that he would be unable to pitch in any game that charged admission because he would be generating money, and Ponson has yet to obtain his work visa.
After settling the case, Ponson will need to apply for a P-1 visa through the Immigration and Naturalization Service to pitch this season.
"I found out last night," Ponson said. "My [agent] called me and told me that it's best for me right now not to [pitch]. I respect that. I don't want to jeopardize my visa either. I can wait. I put myself in the situation, so I now have to deal with it. Hopefully we can get this squared away very soon."
Ponson can pitch in simulated or minor league games. According to Praver, Chris Lejuez, Ponson's Aruban lawyer, is currently working on a settlement, and Praver said he is optimistic it can be reached soon.
"Chris is working on it right now," Praver said. "Basically, we didn't think it was appropriate for Sidney to request a work visa given his recent circumstances. We are just trying to clear everything up."
Praver said he called club officials Sunday night to inform them of the possibility Ponson would violate his temporary visitor's visa by pitching. That visa allows him to conduct business or vacation in the United States, but he cannot work.
Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Jim Beattie called the Commissioner's Office. Major League Baseball officials then contacted INS, who then told the Orioles that Ponson was not allowed to pitch.
"Because of the way this has gone with Sidney, until there is a formal dismissal of the charges and all the conditions of what happened in Aruba are met, he can't pitch in games where admission is charged," Beattie said. "Once those three conditions are met and the judge dismisses the charges, then he can go and get his work papers and then he can pitch and continue on."
Ponson, 28, spent 11 days in an Aruban jail after he was arrested the night of the incident. He was confronted at a beach in Boca Catalina by fellow beachgoers who accused him of riding his watercraft recklessly. He apparently punched a local judge in the fracas, and he spent time in jail because Aruba does not have a bail system.
After being released on Jan. 6, he returned to the United States until his March 3 court date. He shook hands with the victim, who told him he only wanted money for his medical expenses.
Orioles infielder Enrique Wilson is also in the United States on a visitor's visa, but since he is trying to make the club -- i.e. apply for a job -- he is able to compete in games.
"It could be done tomorrow or it could be done a week or two weeks from now," Ponson said.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://bb.visitaruba.com/showthread.php?t=1331Ponson Remains JailedAttorney: Alcohol-Fueled Fight Left 4 Injured, 3 in Custody
By Dave Sheinin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 30, 2004; Page D05
The beachside altercation that has kept Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson locked up in an Aruban jail since Christmas Day grew out of an alcohol-fueled confrontation that left four people injured and three people, including Ponson, in police custody, Ponson's attorney said yesterday .
Attorney Chris Lejuez acknowledged Ponson's part in the fight, but declined an opportunity to proclaim his client's innocence of the charges of assault and fighting in a public place.
"If you are in a fight, it is very hard to be innocent," Lejuez said. "The only way to be innocent in a fight is to avoid it."
Ponson, 28, spent a fifth night in jail last night at a police station in the town of San Nicholas, and could remain there through the weekend as the public prosecutor finishes investigating Saturday's altercation. Ponson remains in police custody because Aruba's legal system has no bail option.
Although it remains unclear when Ponson will be released -- he could be transferred to a prison early next week if the prosecutor finds there is cause to keep him detained, and a judge agrees -- Lejuez said he believes Ponson will be available for spring training on time in mid-February.
"I'm very confident he will be able to get back in time for his preparations for spring training," Lejuez said. Asked about the possibility of prison time, he said, "I'm hopeful we don't get to that point."
The Orioles have remained mostly silent on Ponson's case, and majority owner Peter Angelos said yesterday that he will withhold judgment until all the facts are out.
"I would be the last person to prejudge him," said Angelos. "There was an allegation made, but it isn't fair to just automatically assume he was in the wrong. [Someone else] could have been the aggressor."
According to police reports, Ponson was confronted on the beach Saturday by a group of people who asserted he had harassed them by recklessly operating his personal watercraft. In the ensuing altercation, Ponson allegedly struck a man in the face, then fled the scene. The alleged victim, who turned out to be a local judge named W. Noordhuizen, was hospitalized, and Ponson was later taken into police custody.
Messages left at Noordhuizen's office were not returned yesterday, and a receptionist said he was on vacation.
Lejuez acknowledged alcohol was involved in the altercation, adding, "It was Christmas Day. People were drinking and having a good time. So people were under the influence of alcohol, but not only Sidney."
According to Mary Ann Croes, a spokesperson in the public prosecutor's office, "multiple" people were injured in the fight and three were detained. However, she declined to name the other people who were detained and would not divulge the condition of those injured.
Lejuez said that four people were treated for injuries. "Mostly bruises, some swelling, a black eye," he said.
According to Lejuez, the incident began when Ponson, who was riding his Jet Ski in the waters off Boca Catalina, was beckoned to the beach by a group of two or three people.
"The people on the beach apparently told him, 'Come here,' " Lejuez said. "They invited him to discuss the matter. So he went to the beach to discuss the matter. He did not go to the beach to fight. But once he was on the beach, the fight started. . . . One of them tried to hit him, and that's when the fight started."
Once the fight began, two people described by Lejuez as friends of Ponson's came to his defense. Lejuez said he has seen their statements to police, and they are "very similar" to Ponson's statement.
According to Croes, three outcomes could result from the prosecutor's investigation: If there is not enough evidence of his guilt, Ponson could be set free. If there is evidence of guilt, he can be released while he awaits a trial. Or a judge could fine him and/or sentence him to community service.
Ponson is a highly prominent figure in his home country, holding the distinction of being one of only three Arubans to play in the major leagues, and he was decorated as a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Royal House in 2003. However, Croes said Ponson's celebrity status will not affect his legal status.
"We treat every case equally," Croes said. "If the person involved is popular or not, it is not important to us. We do what we always do, which is to investigate fully all the facts of the case and decide how to proceed."
