CLEVELAND — The Major League Baseball hammer of discipline has come down on both the Guardians and Chicago White Sox following Saturday night's bench-clearing brawl at Progressive Field.
As expected, Guards third baseman José Ramírez and Sox shortstop Tim Anderson received the largest punishments after the pair threw punches at each other. However, even though Ramírez struck Anderson in the face and knocked him to the ground, it was Anderson who received the lengthier ban, getting a total of six games compared to Ramírez's three. Both have said they will appeal and effectively delay the punishments, and Ramírez is batting third in Cleveland's lineup Monday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The melee broke out Saturday evening after Ramírez slid into second base on an RBI double, and he soon exchanged words with Anderson as the latter covered the bag. As both squared up to fight, Ramírez ended up landing a right hand to Anderson's jaw, putting him on the dirt as teammates tried to separate the pair.
MLB did not indicate why Anderson received the longer suspension, but it is worth noting that in addition to throwing the first punch, the Chicago infielder also stormed back out of the dugout and onto the field after already being thrown out of the game. Guardians manager Terry Francona and White Sox skipper Pedro Grifol were also tossed, as were Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh. Both Clase and Sarbaugh could be seen screaming at and being held back from Chicago players and coaches during the fracas.
Due to their roles in the incident, Francona and Grifol were each handed one-game suspensions of their own and will serve them tonight, with bench coach DeMarlo Hale expected to fill in as acting manager for the Guards. Clase and Sarbaugh also received one-game bans, but while Clase elected not to appeal and will serve his on Monday, Sarbaugh will not have to sit out until Tuesday, likely so Cleveland can keep a reasonable amount of coaches on its staff.
Besides the suspensions, all six of the aforementioned players and coaches will have to pay "undisclosed" fines. Additionally, Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and Guardians infielder Gabriel Arias were hit with financial penalties, but will not have to miss any games. Neither was ejected from Saturday's contest.
The league has not indicated when the appeals of Anderson and Ramírez will be heard. Chicago won the last two games of the three-game series, pushing reeling Cleveland to 4 1/2 behind the Minnesota Twins for first place in the American League Central Division.
