Bench-clearing confrontation over simmering Astros-Dodgers feud leads to suspensions
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 4 years ago • 32 commentsBy: David K. Li (NBC News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and relief pitcher Joe Kelly were suspended Wednesday, following a heated confrontation with the Houston Astros in their first meeting since a sign-stealing scandal rocked baseball earlier this year.
Major League Baseball banned Kelly for eight games in a suspension he's appealing, so he'll be in uniform when the Dodgers take the field in Houston on Wednesday.
Joe Kelly has been suspended for eight games by MLB. He is appealing and available for tonight's game. Dodger Manager Dave Roberts will serve his one-game suspension tonight and Bob Geren will serve as manager.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 29, 2020
Roberts was suspended for one game and he'll sit out Wednesday's matchup while Bob Geren takes over temporarily, the team said.
The Astros and Dodgers left their benches and exchanged angry words Tuesday after Kelly threw two pitches uncomfortably close to two Houston players — though he didn't hit them.
During this past off-season, an MLB investigation found that the Astros used cameras to steal hand signals between opposing pitchers and catchers, and then relayed that crucial information to their batters during Houston's World Series-winning 2017 season.
The Astros won the Fall Classic that year by edging the Dodgers in a full seven-game set.
And with that scandal in the backdrop Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Kelly threw high-and-tight pitches to Houston stars Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa in the sixth inning.
Correa would eventually strike out against Kelly, who then stuck out his tongue and made a face at the batter. Correa began walking toward Kelly and the players exchanged heated words before their benches cleared.
Order was restored in a few minutes and no punches were thrown.
Houston Astros' Carlos Correa, right, ducks from a pitch thrown by Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly on July 28, 2020, in Houston. Both benches emptied after the inning.David J. Phillip / AP
Kelly was not a member of the Dodgers in 2017, but Bregman and Correa were both key players for Houston in that championship season.
First-year Houston manager Dusty Baker, who was not with the organization during the sign-stealing operation, accused Kelly of endangering his players.
"Balls get away sometimes but not that many in the big leagues," Baker told reporters following the Dodgers' 5-2 victory on Tuesday. "When you throw a 3-0 fastball over a guy's head now you're flirting with ending his career."
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred had warned players not to retaliate against the Astros.
Kelly said those errant throws were not intentional.
"I wasn't feeling the greatest," he told reporters. "I wasn't the most comfortable. It took me a while to get into my mechanics."
Before Tuesday night, Kelly was best known for a viral video earlier this year of him trying to stay sharp during the four months pro baseball was shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Back in April, Kelly's wife posted footage of the L.A. reliever practicing a new pitch — that got away and shattered a window at their home.
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It's this simple ..... enough is enough.
A pitcher beans an Astros batter? Throw him out. Another pitcher beans an Astros batter? Throw him out and so and so forth until this nonsense stops. Zero tolerance. You say the ball just slipped? Too bad. You're a major league pitcher, get a better grip on it.
This isn't baseball .... it's petulant, privileged, spoiled millionaires acting out.
When I was in the Navy I coached Little League baseball for years and I can truly say the kids I coached were more mature than many professional baseball players and other adult(?) athletes these days.
Same here, that's because there were real consequences when you acted like a child.
In professional sports? Not so much.
Actually, the parents were much worse than the players. Many of the parents were the immature ones!
BTDT Doc, I’ve had to bounce parents of grade schoolers making asses out of themselves in front of their kids. I always felt sorry for those kids having such dumbass parents
The baseball commissioner really screwed the pooch here.
First of all, he handed down absolutely NO punishments for ANY of the players involved in the cheating scandal.
Then, he gives an 8 game suspension for NOT hitting a batter?
WTF?
Does anyone not see how ironic this is?
Dodger great Orel Hershiser, now an announcer, had this to say after Jose Altuve struck out:
"Guessing is harder than knowing".
LOL!!!
It didn't look to me like Kelly was trying to do anything other than just pitch. It would be pretty unusual to throw a pitch to the backstop on purpose with runners on base. And the next pitch, he struck the batter out. None of that adds up to trying to bean the batter.
Instead, the Astros set about playing victim, which is pretty disgusting considering everything they have done - especially to the Dodgers.
The Astros are a black mark on baseball, and the fact that not a single player got any punishment at all is astounding--almost unbelievable, really.
That's the power of the union. Every punished player would have resulted in the union filing a lawsuit. For MLB, it was more trouble than it was worth.
It's still disgusting, though.
The commissioner should have made examples of the Astros instead of trying to make one of Kelly.
Hmmmm .... Rangers fan?
Actually, I have been a Dodger fan since I was about 6. I do like the Rangers as my American League team. We moved from the DC area to Irving the same year as the Senators moved to Arlington and became the Rangers.
When I have gone to see the Dodgers-Rangers, I always root for the Dodgers.
Really. How is it that Kelly - who didn't even hit anybody - gets suspended for 8 days, but Astros who cheated to win the World Series get nothing?
I wish I could explain 6, but I can't. wtf was the commissioner thinking,??