The Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants got into a bit of a tussle on Friday night, and unlike most baseball brawls, where players and coaches mill around on a field until the umpires tell them not to, this one featured a couple of people falling down. According to ESPN, Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino will be suspended for three games for his role in the fracas.
Shane Victorino Suspended For Three Games
Major League Baseball has suspended Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino three games for his role in the Giants-Phillies bench-clearing incident Friday, a source told ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. The source said Victorino will appeal.
Victorino was hit by a Ramon Ramirez pitch after the Phillies had opened up a large lead on the Giants, and the center fielder took a few steps out towards the mound. Giants catcher Eli Whiteside got in front of Victorino and started hopping around like a frog. Placido Polaco then got too close to Whiteside hopping like a frog, and he'll probably think twice about doing that again.
So the beginning of the scrum was not why Victorino was suspended. The reasons that might explain Victorino’s punishment are a) he pushed through an umpire to return to the donnybrook, and b) he plowed into a pile of players as the skirmish was dying down, tackling Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens and reigniting the whole thing.
Victorino plans to appeal, but with the Phillies leading the NL East by 8-1/2 games, he might just want to rest up a bit for the playoffs.
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