On Monday, April 3rd, the MLB announced that it has suspended Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon for a physical confrontation with a fan.
MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill made the announcement while noting that the suspension is for Rendon’s “actions involving a fan last Thursday.”
According to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Rendon immediately appealed the suspension, and the process quickly played out, resulting in a four-game ban. Rendon will begin serving the suspension with the Angels’ game Monday against the Seattle Mariners.
Rendon, 32, is in his 11th MLB season and fourth with the Angels. A former All-Star with the Washington Nationals, he has been limited by injury during his Angels stint, having played 58 games or fewer in each of the past two seasons.
The incident took place after the A’s 2-1 win over the Angels in Oakland on Opening Day and was recorded on video. Rendon confronted a fan in the stands as he walked off the field. Video shows Rendon reaching into the stands and grabbing the shirt of the fan before a tense exchange.
“What’d you say? Yeah, you called me b****, huh?” Rendon said. “Yeah, you did. Yeah, you did. Yeah, motherf***er.”
Rendon swiped at the fan’s face with his left hand, then walked away. He did not make contact with his swipe. It’s not clear what happened prior to the confrontation. A video of the altercation was posted to Twitter, and currently has 11 Million views. You can watch the tense interaction unfold here.
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