Yasiel Puig, Clint Hurdle and six others suspended in Pirates-Reds brawl
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds are going to look a bit different for a few games. Major League Baseball announced suspensions for eight individuals after the two teams brawled Tuesday.
Six players, including Kyle Crick, Amir Garrett, Jared Hughes, Keone Kela, José Osuna and Yasiel Puig, were all hit with suspensions. Of those players, Kela received the largest suspension. He’ll miss 10 games after throwing at Derek Dietrich’s head during the contest.
Garrett received an eight-game suspension after running to the Pirates’ dugout to incite the brawl. Crick, Osuna and Puig all received three-game suspensions for their actions during the brawl. Puig will serve those games with the Cleveland Indians, who acquired him just moments before the fight broke out.
Managers David Bell and Clint Hurdle were also suspended for their actions. Bell will receive six games. He was punished for re-entering the field after being ejected earlier in the game, his aggressive actions during the brawl and for being involved in “numerous ejections this season.” Hurdle was suspended for two games for “multiple intentional pitches thrown at Dietrich this season.”
All of those players received fines. Philip Ervin, Joey Votto and Trevor Williams also received fines for their actions, though they were not suspended. Players who participated in the fight while on the Injured List were also fined.
All six players will appeal their suspensions, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. They will be eligible to play until their appeals are heard.
Bell will begin serving his suspension Thursday night. Hurdle will begin serving his suspension Friday.
After the suspensions were announced, Bell was vocal that his team had to protect itself following.
"This comes down to, really, one of our guys, a ball was thrown at his head,” Bell said. “What are we supposed to do? I can’t live with not doing anything to protect our guys. It’s pretty much that simple. If we don’t do anything, if we don’t protect ourselves, then their pitcher just gets away with throwing at one of our guys’ head.”
Asked if the length of Kela’s suspension was the league’s way of sending a message about throwing at a batter’s head, Bell said:
“I think so. But that wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t protect ourselves. If we wouldn’t have done anything about it then he would’ve got away with it.”
Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre, who handed out all the suspensions, called the season-long conflict between the Pirates and Reds “a concern,” and said he expects both Bell and Hurdle to “hold their players accountable for appropriate conduct and to guide them in the right direction.”
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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