The New York Yankees could be without Gary Sanchez for a long time, with rumors that the slugger will be facing a hefty suspension after delivering two separate sucker punches during the team’s brawl with the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
The teams got into a series of scraps in Thursday’s game, starting when Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle threw behind Tigers star Miguel Cabrera in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kahnle was ejected immediately and Yankees manager Joe Girardi was shown the door after he came out to argue, but that was only the start of the fireworks.
As tensions rose after the pitch, Cabrera and Yankees catcher Austin Romine got into a spat that led to both players throwing punches. Both benches cleared and the bullpens emptied.
Unlike many baseball brawls that include plenty of grappling and little fighting, this one had plenty of action — and Gary Sanchez was right in the middle of much of it. The Yankees star delivered a punch to Cabrera’s head while his Yankees teammates had the Tigers star pinned to the ground. Later, Sanchez delivered another punch to Nick Castellanos, who was already immobilized.
Strangely enough, Sanchez was not one of the players ejected after the brawl.
As the New York Post noted, Sanchez is likely looking at a suspension for his punches.
“There is likely further discipline coming for several parties from this fight, but Major League Baseball is likely to be especially upset with Sanchez’s punch.”
Punches were thrown during the Yankees-Tigers game. [Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images] pic.twitter.com/jCXK3RbUUV
— ESPN (@espn) August 24, 2017
The 8 ejections in the Yankees-Tigers game are the most in any game this season.
Yankees’ 5 ejections are the most by a team this season. pic.twitter.com/CBtx4RdNQo
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 24, 2017
Gary Sanchez is already taking plenty of heat for the sucker punches. CBS Sports noted that “to the extent that we need to have a villain in this situation, Gary Sanchez is the obvious choice.” Many shared the video of Sanchez’s sucker punches, drawing the ire of plenty of fans.
This would not be the first time Sanchez has faced discipline for his misbehavior. In 2014, while playing in Double-A, Sanchez was handed a five-game suspension for his team. He later told the New York Post that the suspension came after he was “late for a stretch.”
There are rumors that Gary Sanchez could face somewhere around a five-game suspension, with the New York Yankees star likely facing more harsh discipline than Bryce Harper’s four games for sparking a brawl earlier this season.
[Featured Image by Michael Dwyer/AP Images]
