Tim Anderson and Jose Ramírez are likely facing suspensions for their roles in a bench-clearing brawl during Saturday’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox.
After the Guardians’ Ramírez slid into second base after a hit in the sixth inning, Anderson kept his tag on Ramirez’s back. This appeared to annoy Ramírez, he got up and put his finger in Anderson’s face. Anderson dropped his glove first and made the first attempt at contact but missed on two punches that opened him up to Ramirez’s ducking hook that connected.
Shortly after, the pair squared up to fight. The Associated Press reported that after the pair started to fight, players from both teams rushed onto the field, escalating it to a brawl instead of a boxing match.
“From the second I set foot in the clubhouse, I could tell these teams don’t like each other. And I don’t think it’s going to be resolved anytime soon,” pitcher Noah Syndergaard, recently acquired by the Guardians, told the AP.
The White Sox and the Guardians have been engaged in a rivalry since 2021, according to Sports Illustrated. The brawl is just the most visible indication that these two teams just flat-out do not like each other.
“He’s been disrespecting the game for a while,” said Ramírez of Anderson through a translator.
“When he does something like that on the bases, he can get somebody out of the game. So I was telling him to stop doing that. After he tapped me really hard, more than needed, he said he wanted to fight and I had to defend myself.”Several players and coaches ended up being ejected from the game, including the managers of both teams.
Speaking to the press after the game, Chicago manager Pedro Grifol indicated that Major League Baseball had a lot to sift through when doling out punishment.
The MLB has not announced its punishment for the players and coaches involved. It’s expected that Anderson and Ramírez will both receive multiple-game suspensions.
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