Miami Palmetto baseball player arrested for assaulting a teammate after practice

The Jan. 18th attack on a 15-year old teammate resulted in a lacerate ear

A dispute among teammates went wrong last week at a South Florida high school baseball practice. 

According to multiple reports, a 16-year old Miami Palmetto baseball player was arrested last week by authorities for assaulting a teammate during practice. 

“The ear was sliced on the top. Like a number 7. It goes across and down,” the victim’s grandmother said per a report from WFLA Channel 8. “They had to put the top of the ear together and the back.” 

The victim is identified as 15-year old David Diaz, who in a report has six stitches in his ear. 

According to police records, the Panthers were practicing at Coral Reef Park and the team’s head coach ordered extra laps after Diaz brought food to the field.

After practice, the suspect became agitated with Diaz and threatened violence against him. 

The suspect then, reportedly, threw an air horn at Diaz in an attempt to scare him. The suspect claimed he intended to hit the ground near Diaz’s feet, but accidentally smacked him in the head causing the ear injuries, according to the report. 

The suspect’s mother spoke out in defense of her son. 

“He’s a good kid,” the suspect’s mother said in the WFLA report. “Never been in a fight. He’s respectful. He’s a good teammate. He usually breaks up fights. Clearly, he made a bad decision.” 

The Panthers went 10-11 last season out of Class 7A. Diaz was not listed as a member of the 2022-2023 varsity team. 

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl