New video recorded by a witness and obtained by the LA Times and CHP shows the altercation of Julio Urias that upended Julio Urias’s baseball career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2024.
A violent incident from 2023 involving former MLB pitcher Julio Urías has surfaced, revealing troubling behavior that may have ended his baseball career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
A 72-second recording by a bystander obtained by the LA Times and California Highway Patrol shows the moments the former MLB pitcher was involved in an altercation last September outside BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles after an LAFC game.
In the video, Urías is seen charging at two women, one of whom is believed to be his wife. He grabs her and slams her against a fence, while multiple bystanders rush to intervene. Urias also takes a swing at her, cursing in Spanish.
Following the event, Urías was arrested, and the video aligns with the initial police report from that day.
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Urías later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation and required to complete a domestic violence counseling program, among other conditions. The Dodgers responded by placing him on administrative leave, and he has not played since, remaining a free agent.
Major League Baseball is currently conducting its own investigation and has not yet commented on the newly released video.
However, the footage has led some fans to conclude that Urías should not be allowed to play professional baseball again.
The video was provided by the California Highway Patrol, the investigating agency, in response to a California Public Records Act request for videos and other information from the investigation by the LA Times.
"He lost his opportunity by putting his hands on a woman. No man should ever put his hands to hit a woman," said Dodgers fan Eddie Garcia.
This marks the second domestic violence incident involving Urias. In 2019, he faced a suspension for reportedly pushing a woman to the ground in a parking lot, though he was not criminally charged in that case.
The Dodgers signed Urías when he was a teenager in Mexico. He became one of the majors' top starting pitchers, winning 20 games in 2021 and leading the majors with a 2.16 ERA in 2022. He recorded the final out of the Dodgers' 2020 World Series victory.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
