CW: intense depictions of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Less than a year after Olivia Finestead told the police that her baseball playing ex-fiancée choked her and kicked her and their child out of his home, she said Major League Baseball called her with an important update: Mike Clevinger was cleared to continue playing baseball.
"Mike voluntarily agreed to go to therapy,” said Moira Weinberg, who at the time of MLB’s March 5, 2023 announcement was the league’s deputy general counsel and an executive within its Department of Investigations. “But there will be no suspension.” Finestead said Weinberg framed the league’s decision as good news.
She was taken aback. Finestead believed she had provided ample proof that Clevinger abused her and that he remained dangerous. So with her one-year-old in tow, Finestead told eyeblack that she rushed to her apartment, put her phone on speaker, and used her iPad camera to capture what Weinberg said next.1
“So I just want to be clear,” Finestead told Weinberg during the alleged March 5 call before rattling off evidence she said she gave to the league. “Another domestic violence police report in another state with another girl, texts saying word for word the physical abuse he did to her, my photo of bruises on my body, that chewspit in the room”—a reference to Clevinger allegedly throwing chewing tobacco spit in their hotel room that landed on their infant—“none of that is substantial evidence?”
On the alleged recording, Weinberg insisted that MLB ran a thorough probe. But, she told Finestead the proof fell short. “We received everything that you have told us about. We have explored and followed up on it,” she said. “And there is not evidence to substantiate discipline here.” Finestead has since claimed that by allowing Clevinger to play without first giving him consequences, MLB enabled him to continue harassing her, including threatening her life.
What, exactly, MLB considers sufficient evidence for discipline is presently unclear. League policy states that “a single incident of abusive behavior” can serve as grounds for discipline. However, MLB declined to elaborate on its investigative process2, nor did the league permit Weinberg to discuss the Clevinger probe with eyeblack. But, Finestead’s alleged recording also includes a more straightforward assertion about how the DOI handled her tips, Weinberg’s claim that MLB “explored and followed up” on all of Finestead’s leads.
Since 2023, MLB has defended its “comprehensive” investigation into Clevinger’s conduct with statements touting the “more than 15 people” the league interviewed for its probe. But, eyeblack spoke to three people who say MLB never interviewed them for its Clevinger investigation even though they claim to have witnessed or experienced his abuse. Two are former girlfriends who described physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, bringing the total number of exes who say the currently-injured Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher harmed them to five. A third person told eyeblack he witnessed Clevinger’s abuse and tried to make him stop, but never heard from MLB.
The women who say MLB did interview them about Clevinger for its investigation told eyeblack that they informed the league about who these witnesses were, why they mattered, and how to reach them. Now, they accuse MLB’s investigators—a team that includes former prosecutors and law enforcement officers—of failing to gather easily attainable, vital testimonies about Clevinger’s alleged history. And had MLB taken reasonable steps these women say they urged the league to follow before closing its probe, they believe Weinberg may have collected the proof she allegedly claimed she couldn’t find.
‘I thought…they were going to actually conduct a real investigation’
In Clevinger’s athletic prime, the veteran hurler racked up strikeouts with a mid-90s fastball and an array of bendy offspeed pitches. And in his early days as a Los Angeles Angels prospect, Clevinger’s then-girlfriend said he used his golden arm to hurl her car keys toward her head.3
According to the woman, 4 her word wasn’t enough. During her alleged February 16, 2023 conversation with MLB, investigators asked her repeatedly if she could produce video of Clevinger assaulting her, even though her relationship ended over a decade before the league launched a probe into the allegations against her ex-boyfriend.