Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday that it had suspended Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson for three games and fined him an undisclosed amount after he made contact with an umpire during Monday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. Anderson, for his part, has appealed the suspension and will not miss any time until after a hearing can be held.
Anderson made contact with umpire Tim Timmons as part of a larger benches-clearing incident in the ninth inning of Monday’s contest. Here’s how our Mike Axisa described the scene:
In the top of the ninth, Tigers righty Alex Lange hit reigning AL MVP José Abreu in the arm with a pitch, which led to chirping from the Chicago dugout. Later in the inning Abreu slid into second base aggressively when a ball skipped away from catcher Eric Haase. Abreu and shortstop Niko Goodrum exchanged words, and the benches cleared.
Here’s video of the entire scene, for those who may have missed it:
It’s worth noting that Anderson’s suspension would not impact the postseason. If he has to miss games, it will come only during the regular season. Of course, with so few days remaining until the season reaches its completion, it’s at least possible that a hearing won’t be held in time and that his suspension would roll over into next year.
Anderson, 28 years old, has had another good season for the White Sox this year. In 119 games, he’s batted .301/.330/.458 (114 OPS+) with 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases (on 25 attempts). He’s accumulated four Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations.
The White Sox will complete their series against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday before having Thursday off. Beginning on Friday, the White Sox will host those same Tigers for a season-concluding three-game set.
