Fight fallout: Anderson suspended 6, Ramirez 3
Written by I Dig SportsChicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has been suspended for six games, Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez for three and Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase for one for their parts in Saturday's benches-clearing brawl, Major League Baseball announced Monday.
Also suspended for one game were managers Pedro Grifol and Terry Francona, as well as Guardians third base coach Mike Sarbaugh.
All parties also incurred fines.
Anderson and Ramirez are appealing their suspensions, so their discipline will be held in abeyance until the process completes. Grifol, Francona and Clase will serve their suspensions Monday, and Sarbaugh will serve his Tuesday.
The two teams clashed when Ramirez and Anderson squared off near second base after Ramirez slid in safely on a double in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday. The fight was the culmination of several days of trash-talking and gesturing between the teams, which most recently picked up in a series in late July in Chicago.
In a game July 27, Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor imitated former White Sox third baseman Jake Burger's base-hit celebration and Anderson took exception, according to sources familiar with the situation. In that same game, Clase struck out Andrew Benintendi looking to end the game, then yelled in the direction of the Chicago dugout. Anderson, in particular, could be seen looking out at the mound from the White Sox dugout as the Guardians celebrated their win.
Over the next few games, Anderson increased his trash-talking, including carrying it over to Cleveland for their weekend series. On Friday, Anderson pulled Guardians infielder Brayan Rocchio off the bag at second, leading to him being called out, further angering Cleveland players.
The fight between Anderson and Ramirez was a culmination of all those events.
Also fined were White Sox starter Michael Kopech and Guardians outfielder Gabriel Arias.