In case you missed it, Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera was the centerpiece of a fist fight that started the ball rolling on a game marred with bench clearing brawls yesterday. The benches cleared three times in the game. You can relive all the action here, here, and here.
The news came down from the MLB offices today and Cabrera was (not surprisingly) handed the heaviest load in terms of suspensions for Detroit players.
Tigers suspensions, according to Major League Baseball: Miguel Cabrera seven games, Alex Wilson four games, Brad Ausmus one game.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) August 25, 2017
For their part, the New York Yankees will have to live without Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine for the next four and two games respectively.
The Tigers will look to appeal the suspensions, especially the one of manager Brad Ausmus who denies using foul language in the exchanges.
Ausmus also emphatically denied using F word unsolicited at Gardner. He asked Gardner, "What the F are you looking at."
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2017
In a surprise moment of candidness, Miguel Cabrera had some choice words after the suspensions were handed out.
Miguel Cabrera was very upset that Sanchez got fewer games and that Judge, who he said also sucker punched him, didn't get suspended at all
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2017
According to Cabrera, Aaron Judge was in the middle of the fracas and made an attempt to injure Miggy.
Cabrera: 'My point is, why don't they say anything about Judge? He tried to hit me in the throat. Why is he not suspended?"
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2017
Cabrera didn’t mince words when it came to criticizing Major League Baseball brass who handed down the suspensions.
Cabrera: "I'm not surprised (by the suspension). It's MLB, they do what they want. I don't have control. But be fair."
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2017
Cabrera: "See the video. See the people who threw punches and went after me when I was on the floor."
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2017
Cabrera: "I'm not asking for them to give me less (games). I'm OK with that. I take responsibility. But, come on."
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) August 25, 2017
It’s nice to see a player stand up and take responsibility for his own part in the disruption. We’ll have to take another look at the tape to see about the voracity of Cabrera’s throat punching claim.
Another surprising move is that Yankees reliever Dellin Betances was not disciplined beyond being ejected from the game. His pitch in the seventh inning smashed into the head of James McCann which sparked the second bench clearing conflict. It’s interesting that hitting another player in the head, especially in this age of concussion awareness, doesn’t come with a steeper fine.
We’ll keep you posted on more player comments and reaction from this developing situation.
