Ron Washington Once Paid A Fine With 20,000 Pennies

(CBS) Rangers manager Ron Washington is a man of conviction, as evidenced by his hard-core defense of the power of the bunt in the face of mounting criticism from sabermetricians.

So perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that Washington once paid a $200 fine to Major League Baseball by shipping the powers that be 20,000 pennies.

That story comes from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in reference to Washington being ejected from a spring training game in 2011. It came to light after Washington argued with the umpires in a spring training game over the weekend.

From the Star-Telegram:

After the ejection Washington never left the dugout as required because the ballpark at Peoria Sports Complex isn't exactly flush with great places for a manager to hang out if ejected.

MLB fined him double — $200 — for not leaving the dugout.

Washington responded by filling a box with $200 in pennies and mailing it to Bob Watson, MLB vice president in charge of discipline. Cost to mail it to New York: about $45.

Watson called after receiving the box.

Watson: "And you just had $200 in pennies hanging around? Washington: "Yes. Bob, I didn't have my checkbook. I wasn't trying to be funny. Now go to the bank and put that in the [change] machine and get your $200."

As Washington himself has been known to say, "That the way baseball go."