Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez went far beyond the normal celebration of a home run Wednesday, when he nearly incited a brawl between his club and the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Now, he's been suspended for his actions.
Gomez took a mighty hack at a fastball from Paul Maholm, tanking the ball over the center field wall and staring at it. He proceeded to glare at Maholm, before mouthing off to several Braves on his way around the bases.
Gomez had been harboring a grudge against Maholm, who he believes plunked him intentionally months ago. "When I hit the homer, I said, 'Now we're tied.' And they began to tell me things," Gomez said. "When I got to the plate, McCann yelled at me and I told him that this was the result of something they had done."
After simmering down, Gomez offered an apology for his attitude, but stopped short of assuming all the blame. "I send my apologies to everybody in the Braves' organization and to my organization," he said on Grandes en Los Desportes. "I admit it was somewhat ugly, but I do not regret it because it was the result of something they did to disrespect me." He's been suspended one game by MLB.
As he neared home plate, Braves catcher Brian McCann met Gomez on the third base line where they traded expletives and shoves. The benches cleared and Braves outfielder Reed Johnson got a little too rowdy, which earned him a one-game ban to match Gomez's. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman and McCann were both fined for their roles in the incident.
"I thought he showed up our whole team," McCann said. "I did what any catcher would do in that situation -- sticking up for his team."
Braves manager Frank Wren had no problem with his club's reaction to Gomez's showboating. "It was such an unusual situation. Every time you get in a situation like this, in hindsight, there's probably things you wish you would have done differently, and I would say our players probably feel that way as well," Wren said.
"But I think the reaction was probably appropriate for the situation. It was one of the most unique things I've ever seen."
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