Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that it is suspending Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster for five games and fining him an undisclosed amount for hitting New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez with a pitch in Sunday's series finale at Fenway Park. The MLB has also fined New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi was also fined for arguing and being ejected by home-plate umpire Brian O'Nora.
Despite being punished, Girardi will at least be partially happy considering he was lobbying publicly for Dempster to be punished after his pitch struck Rodriguez in the elbow during Sunday's game, which was eventually won by the Yankees 9-6.
"As I said, he's one of our players and one of the reasons I was so upset is you just can't throw, I mean, that baseball is a weapon," Girardi originally said according to the Daily News.
Girardi said moments before the Yankees opened up game one of their day-night doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx Tuesday that he was still angry over the situation and believed that Dempster should "absolutely" be suspended.
"My opinion hasn't changed. It was wrong. Flat wrong," Girardi told the Daily News. "You just can't throw at someone because you don't like them, or you disagree with the way something's being handled. They've talked about throwing at people all the time, so you just can't take things into your own hands. It's not right."
While it's unknown if Girardi's seething anger had any bearing on MLB's eventual decision Tuesday, it's still up to debate.
Rodriguez went through a controversial at-bat against Dempster Sunday night. A-Rod, who is appealing an unprecedented 211-game suspension that would stretch through the 2014 MLB season for being linked to Tony Bosch's Biogenesis clinic and PED use, entered the batter's box at Fenway Park to a chorus of boos and other villainous chants. Dempster threw his first pitch behind A-Rod's back and then came inside two more times on him before finally beaning him in the elbow with a 3-0 fastball.
The video can be seen below:
Girardi was visibly upset at Dempster for throwing at A-Rod, and ran out to argue the call with O'Nora. Girardi was incensed that the umpire warned both benches instead of throwing Dempster out of the game, and was subsequently tossed from the game himself and later fined.
Dempster, 36, remained in the game after Girardi's ejection, and has started 25 games this season, and is 6-9 with a 4.77 ERA.
Girardi was afraid that Dempster was beginning a pattern that could see A-Rod get hit often this season.
"I mean, it just makes him open season for people," Girardi said Tuesday per the Daily News. "And that can't happen. It's not fair. If a player is suspended for throwing at someone, they're going to get their appeal. Are we just going to throw that out too? I mean, this is what's been negotiated [in the collective bargaining agreement]?"
While Dempster got away with hitting Rodriguez in the actual game, it was A-Rod who got the last laugh, not only with Dempster being suspended, but by hitting his second homerun of the year of the right-hander later on in that controversial game.
However, perhaps there are more laughs to go around as Dempster and the baseball world await A-Rod's fate when his appeal is heard this fall amid the possibility that the three-time AL MVP may miss next year's entire baseball season.
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