Jonathan Papelbon’s suspension is for bumping umpires, crotch grab
By Hayden Kane
There was big news out of Philadelphia on Monday night, as the Phillies learned moments before their game against the San Diego Padres that closer Jonathan Papelbon had been suspended for seven games, effective immediately, for his crotch grab towards fans on Sunday.
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What might have been overlooked in the coverage of the situation, however, is that Papelbon also got the attention of the MLB offices because of his reactions towards umpires Joe West and Marty Foster.
After the gesture to the crowd from Papelbon, West made his way over to the dugout and ejected the closer from the game. This completely and utterly miffed Papelbon, and he took to the field to express his frustration. It was quite the temper tantrum, and in the midst of the outburst Papelbon made contact with both West and Foster.
That is a no-no, something players across the league know well.
Told that Papelbon’s penalty did not simply result from crotch grab. MLB determined that he bumped West once and Marty Foster twice.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 16, 2014
There is another interesting wrinkle to this situation, and it comes from West’s perspective: as he argued with Papelbon, he initiated contact and grabbed him by the jersey to move him. It typically falls on the umpire not to escalate these situations. As such, West might also face discipline for his role in the confrontation. If he does, however, that won’t be decided in the next couple days.
No word yet on whether West was disciplined.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 16, 2014
If (big if) Joe West will be disciplined wasn't likely to come today, since man in charge of umps, Joe Torre, had brother's funeral
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) September 16, 2014
As a reminder, here is the video of Papelbon grabbing his crotch and then losing his mind at both umpires when he was ejected from the game.
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