José Ramírez has been suspended for three games for his involvement in Saturday's on-field fight between the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox.
Ramírez, who is set to appeal the suspension, traded blows with Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson during the sixth inning of Saturday night's contest. Anderson, who appeared to instigate the fight that saw the two players trade punches before Ramírez knocked Anderson to the ground, received a six-game suspension - the highest among all punished players/coaches for the benches-clearing incident. Anderson is also expected to appeal.
Guardians manager Terry Francona received a 1-game suspension after being ejected from Saturday's game - the third tossing of the skipper over the last week (all against the White Sox). For Cleveland, third base coach Mike Sarbaugh and relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase also received single-game suspensions for their respective roles in the fight, while outfielder Gabriel Arias was handed an undisclosed fine. White Sox manager Pedro Grifol also received a single-game suspension, while starting pitcher Michael Kopech was fined.
Francona and Clase are expected to serve their suspensions during Monday night's game between the Guardians and the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, while Sarbaugh is expected to miss Tuesday night's game.
Ramírez told Show del Mediodia's Héctor Gómez on Monday that he has tried to reach out to Anderson, but Anderson has yet to respond:
"In the light of the recent events, I want to say to the public that I deeply regret what happened between me and Tim Anderson, whom I consider a very good baseball player. I've been trying to reach out to him directly and apologize, but haven't received an answer. Everyone who knows me, knows well I'm not somebody who's out there looking for trouble. It's been part of my personality and behavior to give 100 percent every day at the field to help my team and trying to be an example for the younger players on my team. I want to reiterate apologies for my behavior and as always my goal is to help my team to win and reach the postseason. I want to thank everybody in my organization, my teammates, and all my fans for their support during this process."
Jose Ramirez vs. Tim Anderson fight (Credit: Stark Productions)