Six players and coaches have received suspensions for their roles in Saturday’s bench-clearing melee between the White Sox and Guardians.
Tim Anderson and José Ramírez were the only two to receive multi-game suspensions. The White Sox shortstop received a six-game punishment while the Guardians star third baseman was disciplined for three games, MLB announced Monday.
A fight erupted between Anderson and Ramírez following a tag play at second base in the sixth inning. The two players squared up and threw punches at each other, with Ramírez landing a swing on Anderson’s face that knocked him down. Anderson was wobbly when he got back up as he walked back to the dugout.
Both players were immediately ejected, as were Guardians manager Terry Francona, third base coach Mike Sarbaugh and closer Emmanuel Clase, along with White Sox manager Pedro Grifol. The latter four received one-game suspensions. White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech and Guardians outfielder Gabriel Arias also received undisclosed fines.
Anderson was out of the lineup for Sunday’s series finale; Grifol said it was a scheduled day off and that the shortstop was “OK.” Anderson didn’t speak to reporters following Saturday’s game, but went on a several-tweet tirade late Sunday evening.
Ramírez, meanwhile, called out Anderson following Saturday’s game, telling reporters through his interpreter that he warned Anderson he had been tagging players too hard, leading to the incident.
“As soon as the play happened, he tapped me again really hard, more than needed,” Ramírez said. “And then his reaction was like ‘I want to fight’ and if he wanted to fight I had to defend myself. I felt I was able to land one.”
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