David Ortiz Suspended: Ortiz Bumps Umpire To Get Suspended, Appeals MLB Decision
David Ortiz, suspended for one-game for bumping an umpire, has appealed his suspension. Ortiz got into a heated argument with umpire John Tumpane in a Boston Red Sox game Sunday (April 19). While in that argument, Ortiz made contract with the umpire, leading to Major League Baseball, leveling a one-game suspension against him. He wasn’t keen on accepting that punishment, and as the Boston Globe relayed late Tuesday (April 21), decided to appeal the punishment. Ortiz spoke with the paper about what took place, briefly addressing the contact he made.
“They got rules, man. They do what they got to do. You just appeal it and then just make your case and go from there. I don’t remember doing that. I don’t have much detail about it. We’re going to do what we normally do.”
The play that got David Ortiz suspended was a check-swing, third-strike call from the third base umpire. Ortiz felt that he didn’t go around, and was more than willing to let the umpire know how he felt. This isn’t the first time Ortiz has been ejected from a game due to his temper, as back on July 27, 2013, he was also thrown out for arguing balls and strikes. As seen in the video below, he took his bat to the dugout phones as the Boston Red Sox played on the road against the Baltimore Orioles.
Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell acted surprised about the decision by MLB to suspend Ortiz for bumping umpire John Tumpane. A report from MLB.com stated that Farrell had actually contacted the lead before the suspension was handed down to “get out in front of the situation.” He certainly didn’t want to see one of his best hitters get suspended for a future game. He talked about his surprise in the report.
“I was. If there was any contact, it was slight, if at all. And it wasn’t anything intentional, I know that. I know that there was a lot of frustration on David’s part from Saturday’s game as well as the two check-swing calls, that even in review of the film, didn’t look like he broke the plane, or the front edge of the plate. The actions are what they are. Still, there were some things I think that were leading up to that.”
As previously reported on the Inquisitr, the pressure for the Red Sox to win this season was increased with the free agent signings of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez in the offseason. Early on, the team has a 9-5 record, and is currently first place in the American League East. This is a primary reason Farrell wants to keep his lineup intact for some important divisional games.
Due to the way that the appeals process works in MLB, even if David Ortiz is suspended, that ban will remain delayed until a hearing can take place on the incident. Until that point, the Boston Red Sox will plug him into the lineup and manager John Farrell will not have to lose his slugger.
[Image Source: Jamie Squire / Getty Images]
