It’s the largest mass punishment for fighting that Major League Baseball has handed down since 2013, when 11 players/staff members were suspended and fined after a brawl between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks. These suspensions were necessary, but many people disagree on the amount of suspended games given to Rougned Odor. Bautista slid hard and late into the right leg of Odor and 8 feet past second base.
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Texas Rangers’ Rougned Odor gestures prior to a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics, Monday, May 16, 2016, in Oakland, Calif. The Rangers won 7-6.
Chavez, who has not declared whether he intends to appeal, was scheduled to begin his suspension Tuesday night.
Odor, who delivered a punch to the jaw of Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista, was suspended for fighting in the top of the eighth inning in Sunday’s game. Three-game suspensions are often the standard suspension for purposefully hitting a batter with a pitch.
All in, it was an expensive day for the players and managers involved. Donaldson did, however, receive a $1,000 fine from Major League Baseball. Toronto reliever Jesse Chavez was hit with a three-game suspension for intentionally throwing at Fielder after warnings were issued to both teams.
Jon Heyman, an MLB Network reporter, was the first to report the news.
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Third baseman Adrian Beltre grabbed Bautista and restrained him well back from the growing melee, in which it is believed that Odor also punched reigning MVP Josh Donaldson. It’s a clip that has been looped thousands, if not millions, of times over the past 48 hours. Rangers shortsop Elvis Andrus was also suspended for one game “for his aggressive actions during the incident”. Gibbons had previously been ejected from the game for arguing balls and strikes, and was given his ban for re-entering the field of play. Leiper returned to the dugout following his ejection. Odor also is fined $5,000 by the league, the same report revealed. Several Rangers were fined as well, including: pitchers Matt Bush, Sam Dyson and A.J. Griffin, catcher Robinson Chirinos and bench coach Steve Buechele.
