Umpire Joe West suspended one game for altercation with Jonathan Papelbon
By Hayden Kane
Jonathan Papelbon got mad, grabbed his crotch, and then lost his mind during a most unfortunate sequence this past weekend in Philadelphia. As for part of that tantrum, Papelbon got into a heated exchange with umpires Joe West and Marty Foster after he was ejected from the game by West.
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The Phillies’ closer was suspended for seven games on Monday for his actions: that suspension might have resulted in part from the crotch grab, but it had mostly to do with the fact that he physically bumped both umpires.
Physical contact between players and umpires will automatically get the attention of the league offices: that made Papelbon’s suspension unsurprising, and it also led to disciplinary action for one of the umpires.
The aforementioned West has been suspended for one game for his role in the altercation, which included grabbing Papelbon’s jersey to get him out of his face.
Umpire Joe West has been suspended 1 game w/o pay for 9/14 incident with Jonathan Papelbon. Statement from Joe Torre: pic.twitter.com/suDAcUU2Oa
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) September 17, 2014
MLB announced Joe West was suspended 1 gm without pay for grabbing Papelbon’s jersey on Sunday. #Phillies
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) September 17, 2014
Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, now MLB’s Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations, was in charge of this decision. He said the following about the suspension.
Joe Torre on West suspension: "Joe West handled himself appropriately in ejecting Papelbon after the player's lewd gesture to the fans...."
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) September 17, 2014
Torre on West: "...however, Joe knows that an umpire cannot initiate physical contact with a player...."
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) September 17, 2014
That puts this specific incident to rest. Moving forward, it should be interesting to see what happens when West is behind the plate for a game that involves Papelbon’s team. Because if baseball players are known for one thing, it is having long memories.
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