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Wednesday, May 24 | |||||
Suspensions believed to be most for one fight | |||||
NEW YORK -- Dodgers manager Davey Johnson was stunned by
the decision to suspend 16 players and three coaches for their
roles in the May 16 fight with Cubs fans in the stands at Wrigley
Field.
"It's a way of handicapping the Dodgers," Johnson said after
Wednesday's announcement.
The 19 suspensions, which the commissioner's office thinks is
the most ever in baseball stemming from one altercation, were
issued by Frank Robinson, baseball's new vice president of on-field
operations.
All the suspensions will be appealed, with none served until
that process is completed. The suspensions total 60 missed games
for players and 24 for coaches.
"I think it's way out of line," said Johnson, a former
Baltimore teammate of Robinson's. "He's saying who my players play
against and who they don't play against. Fifteen of our 25 are
going to miss games, and the coaches I count on."
One of the 16 players involved, pitcher Onan Masaoka, was sent down to Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday.
Dodgers chairman Bob Daly said the appeal wasn't just for the
sake of appearance.
"We're doing this not for a delay, we're doing this because we
think it's unfair," Daly said. "We really believe that the
penalty is awfully stiff. We believe the players and coaches
deserve a full review. I have a fundamental problem that somebody
is dictating who we play against certain teams, deciding who we
play against Arizona or Atlanta."
Johnson hopes the appeals spur a more extensive investigation of
the fight, which began when catcher Chad Kreuter, who was sitting in the bullpen, went after a fan who hit him and stole his cap. Fans and Dodgers then converged in the stands.
"It's very unfair as far as I'm concerned," Johnson said. "My
whole coaching staff was trying to keep our people from getting
smoked. Some guys who got suspended didn't even go into the stands.
They also didn't talk about security (at Wrigley) and that's
disappointing."
Los Angeles players decided as a group not to comment on the
suspensions. Kreuter drew the longest player suspension -- eight
games.
Third base coach Glenn Hoffman, bullpen coach Rick Dempsey and
first base coach John Shelby also were suspended for eight games.
"We're going to appeal it. We're stunned by it. We thought it
was kind of harsh," Hoffman said. "The appeal process will go on.
We go from there."
Agent Scott Boras, who represents Kreuter and three other
suspended players -- Darren Dreifort, Chan Ho Park and Eric Gagne -- said Kreuter was hit hard by the fan who took his cap.
"I don't think the tape showed the fans doing a lot of the
things that were done before it got to the point where it showed
Chad grabbing the fan," Boras said. "Chad tried to get back on
the field, but by then, he was hit a number of times and one fan
spat on him."
Boras said Kreuter did not intend to get involved with the fan,
and questioned the lack of security people in the area.
"Chad was hit in the back of the head with such force that his
chin hit his chest," Boras said. "Whatever response he had came
in the context of he had been battered and he was trying to recover
his property."
Cubs first baseman Mark Grace agreed that security was needed,
saying he didn't want baseball parks to have metal detectors or
similar security measures.
"But by the same token, you want players and fans alike to be
safe. Monica Seles probably wasn't expecting to get stabbed,"
Grace said before Chicago's game against the Rockies in Denver.
"I've seen crazy fans. I think this was just a case of one apple
spoiling the bunch.
"I think the best solution is kick the heck out of him. But you
don't need the whole team to do it. Find a security guard and let
him do it."
The commissioner's office will decide when the suspensions, if
upheld on appeal, would be served, and the suspensions would be
staggered so as to not remove more than three players from the team
at one time.
Four of the Dodgers drawing suspensions are regulars: left
fielder Gary Sheffield (five games), first baseman Eric Karros
(three games), right fielder Shawn Green (three games) and catcher Todd Hundley (three games).
"We're talking about we have 119 games left and I'm essentially
going to be missing a player or coach for 84 of them," Johnson
said, using math that assumed only one suspension at a time.
"That's excessive. I'd rather forfeit a couple of games at Wrigley
and not lose players."
| ALSO SEE Bichette's big night sparks Reds Mad hatter: Dodgers take fight to Wrigley fans Cubs consider curbing beer sales in effort to end Wrigley rowdiness Basebrawl result: 16 suspensions for 82 total games Robinson hears appeals of three Tigers involved in April brawl AUDIO/VIDEO Davey Johnson feels the penalty was out of line. wav: 128 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Rick Dempsey felt it was unfair to punish players keeping the peace. wav: 177 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Dodger chairman Bob Daly discusses the stiff ruling. wav: 103 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 |