Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson will receive a one-game suspension following a game against the Kansas City Royals earlier this week. Anderson hit a home run, then responded by tossing his bat and appearing to yell towards his bench.
TIM ANDERSON IS RIDICULOUS!
Stream the game on the #MyTeams app: https://t.co/mtydSaz4cl pic.twitter.com/IKyX0t3lML
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) April 17, 2019
The king of swag 😤 pic.twitter.com/aVTvGMi7zg
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) April 17, 2019
The pitcher who gave up the dinger, Brad Keller, did not appreciate this. So the next time Anderson came to the plate, Keller put the first pitch in his hip. Anderson wasn’t happy and jawed a little, but didn’t charge the mound or anything. Still, the benches and bullpens cleared, and despite a little confrontation occurring between coaches, Anderson didn’t do much.
Benches clear in Royals-White Sox after Brad Keller hits Tim Anderson in the 6th inning. pic.twitter.com/u9IhZ56AvP
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2019
I’m not going to pretend I was there, but my eyes (and, presumably, yours) tell me that the benches, bullpens, and coaches overreacted, and it looked like the situation would have sorted itself out — no punches were thrown by players, neither Anderson nor Keller charged one another, and Royals catcher Martín Maldonado looked like he was diffusing the situation. Major League Baseball, however, decided to dole out suspensions for the incident. Anderson got one game for, allegedly, a “racially charged word” umpires claimed he used, while Keller got five games, which is baseball for he’ll miss a start.
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has been suspended for one game because of language used during the benches-clearing incident with Kansas City, sources familiar with situation tell ESPN. Brad Keller, who hit Anderson with a pitch, has been suspended for five games, per sources.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 19, 2019
When MLB investigated the benches-clearing incident between the White Sox and Royals, umpires and players from both teams said Tim Anderson used a racially charged word, sources tell ESPN. Anderson received a one-game suspension from the incident, per sources.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 19, 2019
A clarification: White Sox players were not asked specifically about Tim Anderson's use of the word that led to his ejection, per source, but umpires said that it was uttered within earshot of both teams.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 19, 2019
Passan added exactly what Anderson said to Keller, who is white, shortly after.
During the benches-clearing incident, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson called Royals pitcher Brad Keller a "weak-ass f—ing n-word," sources tell ESPN. Anderson, who was hit by a Keller pitch one at-bat after he hit a home run and flipped his bat, was suspended for one game.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 19, 2019
The irony in all of this, though, was this tweet that MLB posted to its official Twitter account following the game.
Keep doing your thing, @TimAnderson7. 👏 #LetTheKidsPlay pic.twitter.com/9irMSsyFZ2
— MLB (@MLB) April 18, 2019
The hashtag is in reference to an ad Major League Baseball put out for the 2018 playoffs in which Ken Griffey Jr. condemned the game’s infamous unwritten rules, which includes the Hall of Fame outfielder saying, “No more talk, let the kids play.”
