JUNE 18, 6:36pm: Machado will begin serving a four-game suspension Sunday, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com was among those to report (via Twitter). That will end Machado’s consecutive games played streak at 229. While the superstar infielder isn’t pleased that he’ll sit out four games and Ventura will miss just one start, he didn’t like his chances with an appeal, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Orioles manager Buck Showalter agrees with Machado’s stance, telling reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com), “A good player doing good things and we won’t have him for four days because somebody hit him with a pitch.”
4pm: MLB has reduced Ventura’s suspension to eight games and he has dropped his appeal, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets.
JUNE 9: Major League Baseball has announced suspensions of Royals starter Yordano Ventura and Orioles infielder Manny Machado. The former gets a nine-game ban, meaning he’ll likely miss only a single outing, while the latter will sit for four contests.
Both players appear set to appeal their punishments stemming from a recent brawl. The melee was sparked when Ventura hit Machado with a pitch, prompting the latter to charge the mound. Both players swung at each other and went to the ground as both dugouts emptied.
The suspensions don’t appear to be major causes for concern for either club, though neither is in great position to deal with a loss at their respective positions. Baltimore is already without shortstop J.J. Hardy, with Machado sliding over from third to cover for him. And the Royals have had plenty of struggles in its starting staff.
This is the second significant set of suspensions relating to on-field fisticuffs in recent weeks. Previously, Rougned Odor led a series of other players from the Rangers and Blue Jays by taking an eight-game suspension (later reduced to seven) for slugging Toronto slugger Jose Bautista.
Lol I guess 9 games is more pay but it is only 1 start.
Suspensions like these aren’t unpaid in MLB
This is unfair. Machado should have gotten no more than 2 games suspended if any. Ventura was the one at fault
Machado chose to charge the mound. That has consequences. He could’ve taken it like a man and taken his base
I was expecting more for Ventura. Seems about right for Manny.
Manny will appeal till hardy gets back.
He can’t. He’ll have a hearing in a few days then serve the suspension immediately following that
Check and mate
He actually did. Hardy returned today. Same day suspension was announced.
well that’s a joke
Ventura does everything humanly possible to convince Machado to beat the snot out of him… and Machado misses more actual time for obliging the little punk…
I couldn’t agree more. At least he got a nice punch in.
Nice punch? Glancing at best and had no effect. I saw Ventura score a nice single leg takedown and Machado wanted no more.
You’re funny
By missing one start, Ventura misses roughly 3-4% of his season (assuming high 20s/low 30s start total in a full healthy season).
By missing 4 games, Machado misses ~2.5% of his season.
Machado is missing more games he’d play in, but Ventura is missing a greater percentage of his overall expected playing time this season.
that’s supposed to mean something?
Machado’s missing 4 games for his actions, Ventura, the instigator, is missing one
i don’t think the percentages is going to convince the next punk pitcher to not to something this stupid when he feels his ego’s been bruised by a biting glare
Haha whatever you say. This is the same sort of logic that leads people to evaluate players on things like wins and rbi.
That doesn’t matter. The real people hurt in these suspensions are the teams. So let’s put it in terms of player need. The Orioles lose Machado an MVP hopeful at a premium position for 4 games, while the Royals lose Ventura the instigator in this fight for 1 start. The MLB needs to change the way it suspends starting pitchers. You are basically getting suspended for games your were never going to play in anyways.
The Royals actually get the advantage of not having Ventura pitch one game. They probably wish it were more.
Math guys are the coolest!
Just once before I die I want to hear a pitcher say, “Yeah I hate that guy so I threw at him”…or “yes he showed me up on that homer so I taught him not to do it again”…anyone think they will ever hear it.
Cole Hamels. Against Harper. He was suspended for openly admitting during the post game interview he intentionally threw at him.
I remember that one. It was Harper’s first week in the majors. And he stole home that same inning, making Hamels look like a complete tool.
And Bobby Jenks against Ian Kinsler. articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-11/sports/0905…
Yup. Cole Hamels. Love that guy.
If KC of really tired of Ventura I would like to see Seattle pick him up if they could get huh for a decent price. Felix could take him under his wing and maybe get him straightened out. Not sure but off the price is right would be worth a shot. We also have Cano Cruz and Seager to keep him on the right path.
MLB needs to readjust their suspension for pitchers. Esp starting pitchers. Its a joke a pitcher, whos not playing anyways, is suspended while a position guy gets 4 games that he would have played in. Mlb should limit how many times a pitcher can be used.
Say ventura gets 36 games, misses 4 starts, and can only be used as a reliever in half those games. Not allowed to start the 4 games he would, but still allowed to pitch as a reliever in 18 of the 36 games. Or something to that effect. And can only pitch a max of 2 innings as a reliever so the team cant loop hole it
or just assume a starting pitcher pitches once every 5th game, and extrapolate accordingly
Machadogets 4 games, Ventura therefore gets 20
Not possible because that would be 20 games of pay he would forfeit as well. Far exceeds what the other person would be forfeiting
Is it unpaid suspension? I thought that the reason for a fine, on top of a suspension, is that they are still paid during the suspension.
Yes it is unpaid suspensions.
No it’s not unpaid.
that’s not how MLB suspensions work. both players are still getting paid.
Except that suspending a position player for 4 games is not comparable to suspending a pitcher for 4 starts. Pitchers play in many fewer games, so I have no problem with the logic that (for example) a 5 game suspension for a SS is equal to a 1 start suspension for a SP. The difficulty is that you need a 9 game suspension to ensure he actually misses a start and doesn’t just have it delayed a day.
Which is why i said he can still pitch, just cant start during the suspension. Someone said 20 games, 4 starts. Say in 10 of those games he can pitch up to 2 innings and the other 10 he cannot pitch at all. Misses the 4 starts, but isnt completely hammered as hes getting up to 20 innings which you figure 5-6innings hed get that in 4 starts anyways. But not being able to go 7 or 8 not getting the strike outs hurts chances to trigget clauses for extra money.
> he can still pitch, just cant start during the suspension
That punishment is easily evaded by having a reliever pitch the first inning then bring Ventura in to pitch the next five or six innings or whatever.
i fail to see why a part time player should be punished less because he’s a part time player… that’s like saying suspensions for DHs should be double because they technically only play 4.5 innings a game
maybe if we stopped treating SPs like they were special, they’d stop throwing dangerous objects at other human beings just because they felt slighted somehow…
Would rather see starting pitchers just get suspended based on starts. So Ventura should miss his next 2 starts and be unavailable out of the bullpen during that time.
Machado’s suspension is fitting, Ventura’s is not. Missing one start is insufficient, Ventura got off easy. Taking money from these millionaires, as I see it, is not much of a deterrent. Take Ventura off the field for three starts and send a message.
Pitchers should get starts suspended, not games. Ventura technically only got a one game suspension because he’d be sitting on the bench the other 8 games anyway.
Semantics would immediately make those suspensions moot.
If it’s a start, can I put Ventura in the game in the second inning?
It’s unfortunate, but I’m not sure what else can really be done.
The problem with this line of thinking is that a pitcher only gets to start 30ish games a season. If you suspend them for something like 10 starts that’s a 1/3 of their season vs. 1/16 (ish) of a position player’s season.
In this instance I think Ventura should have had a longer suspension than he has, but one needs to remember that starters’ influence on a team’s season come in a lot fewer opportunities than do position players’.
I agree with what you’re saying but I mean to suspend him like 2 or 3 starts. That would be 10-15 games. With 9 games, it is pretty much pointless cause he only misses 1 start.
I agree with dwilson, at least by suspending for “starts” the punishment is calculated. Agreed, “nine games” means nothing, it’s only “one start.” Ventura got off easy.
Getting hit by a 99 mph fastball is 9 game suspension. If he hit him with a bat it would have been way worse punishment. When does it become intent to do harm with a baseball?
Pitchers throw at hitters, Alice. It’s part of baseball. It always has been and always should be. Ventura is a punk and I wish Machado would have got a better punch in but it’s part of the game. Go watch soccer if you can’t deal with it.
There is a difference between throwing at someone and intending to injury someone. Plunking a guy in he back with a fastball is fine, but he loaded up and threw 99 at his midsection. I have been hit by high 80s heat and it hurts A LOT but 99 can do serious damage and he knew it.
9 games seems like a lot for a guy who did nothing but hit one batter. 4 games for a guy who actually initiated the “brawl” by charging the mound and who was only one to land a punch seems pretty light to me. . If everybody who got hit charged the mound, players would be suspended every day. He didnt even go headhunting.. The league made a lot of assumptions in the Ventura suspension and used last year against him. Throwing inside is not a crime. Yet.
Ventura has lost all benefit of the doubt. Every bit of it.
I honestly don’t know why anyone is still defending him at this point.
The same reason cardinal fans defend their front office for hacking, blindly defending their favorite teams
Nice non-sequitur.
Have you googled ‘ventura suspension’? Try it and count the incidents …
Then google ‘Ventura machado’ and read any write up that describes the at bat, the previous at bat, the previous time Ventura pitched against the Orioles
Be careful about defending someone before doing your homework
What Ventura did is the base running equivalent of sliding late with your spikes up. Throwing inside, or throwing at a hitter is one thing, but loading up and throwing 99 mph and intentionally hitting a batter (which is what he was trying to do) is wrong.
Perspective! We all have a different,,, who threw the first punch?
Why not hit Ventura with 20 games, that way he misses 4 starts….which is analogous to a position player missing 4 games.
missing 4 out of 35 starts is far worse than missing 4 out of 162 games.
Ventura deserves far worse than Machado, so I’m ok with it.
What a joke. You can’t even argue that you can’t determine if there was intent. Ventura clearly had intent. Not to mention a history of this type of crap and he only gets 9 games!?! Clearly MLB doesn’t care too much for what he did. And Machado essentially misses more games for defending himself!? Note to Machado: next time don’t charge the mound. Just follow Jose Bautista’s lead and slide into the second baseman. It’s only a 1 game suspension! Lol
I’ve got no problem with what Ventura did, and no problem with what Machado did. Ventura plucked him on the hip, it wasn’t like he threw at his head. The problem today is that pitchers don’t throw inside because when they do the batters take offense. When a pitcher tries to reclaim that part of the plate and makes guys uncomfortable, it’s a whine fest.
Ventura has no benefit of the doubt anymore.
I have do problem with “message pitches”, pitching inside, or intentionally hitting a guy to protect your team. However what Ventura did was unload a 99 MPH weapon on Machado’s hip. If you want to hit someone to send a message then 80-90 will send that message just fine, but 99 is intent to injury in my eye.
As a Royals fan I’m a little disappointed he isn’t missing 2 or 3 starts. He’s hurting the team more than helping at this point anyway. Would’ve been a good chance to bring down the hammer and actually teach a lesson.
I think the officials overlooked the fact, that 2 feet higher on that pitch, manny would have gone into a vegetative state.
And if it was a foot to the left, it would’ve been a strike. Dumb argument.
Just the right punch to the head and you can put a guy in a vegetative state.
How does machado only get 4 games when odor just got 7 after appeal for doing the same thing.. Odor gets 3 more games because he threw a better punch?
Cause odor didn’t get hit by a 99mph fastball in the back
i think Odor’s thinly veiled attempt to lodge a baseball in Bautista’s dental work with the worst attempt at a throw to 1st i’ve personally ever seen played some factor in Odor’s suspension…
I don’t even like the Orioles but I wish Machado wouldn’t have got suspended (obviously there was a 0% chance of that) I’m just glad he didn’t get more for defending himself. He’s an outstanding player and I love this era of young talent coming in. Don’t wanna see any of them getting hurt. Respect the great players whether they’re part of your team or not
if there is an attempt to rid baseball of this type of occurance, pitcher gets a month, player gets a week. no pay. donate the money to a worthy cause like the vets or the kids. ventura is insane and was way out of line. machado needs to shut his mouth during the game, he has a history too. both are crybabies.
I think one way for MLB to worry less about suspension lengths and equity between position players and pitchers for these situations is to eliminate the DH and force the pitchers to bat. Pitchers who have to bat themselves don’t throw at hitters as often because they face direct retaliation. Examine the difference in HBP rate for Clemens, for example, when he was in the AL vs the NL. He simply quit throwing at people when he had to bat. Get rid of the DH and let the players police themselves.
What a joke. The Royals literally don’t even have to use a spot starter. They have two off days next week, so it aligns perfectly with their schedule. It doesn’t penalize the team at all, whereas the Orioles will be without their MVP for 4 games. Truly an embarrassment for MLB.
I’ll never really understand the whole suspending a pitcher for 8 or 9 games when everyone knows that just means he misses a start. Want to get Ventura’s attention because he was clearly trying to pick a fight? Try 15-20 games forcing him to miss 3 or 4 starts.
That said, Showalter and Machado shouldn’t pretend this is all on Ventura. Granted Ventura was looking to pick a fight and frankly after Ventura threw 2 in a row to brushback Machado the crew chief should have given Ventura a warning, but Machado took the bait. He could have taken his base and allowed his own pitcher to retaliate especially since they were up by 4 or 5 runs. But he didn’t allow unwritten rules to take their course, he allowed it to be personal.
If it was literally any other pitcher, Machado probably would have taken his base and things would have proceeded as they always do when overgrown children decide to start throwing things at each other.
But it was Yordano Ventura, who sorely needed a wake up call. He wasn’t going to get it if Machado just allowed one of his teammates to throw a beanball at Whit Merrifield, or some other random Royal not named Yordano Ventura.
But yeah, MLB needed to set a precedent on this one with Ventura, and they failed to do so.
I’m not sure about the whole “any other pitcher” thing. I’m a huge fan of Machado, but we’re talking about a guy who got upset because Josh Donaldson “tagged him too hard” and then proceeded to retaliate by “losing” his bat in the general direction of 3rd base.
The whole pitcher-batter suspension thing is a very fine line for MLB to walk. Yeah, it would generally make sense that the pitcher should miss more time than the hitter and should specifically miss more starts if that’s the case. However, a pitcher missing four starts is a lot worse than a hitter missing four games, especially if its a good starter (not to say Ventura is, but trying to make a point here). Imagine it like this…whose absence is more likely to make an impact…Clayton Kershaw getting suspended for 4 starts or Mike Trout for 4 games? Both absences would hurt, and depending on the point in the season at which the suspension occurs, one might be more damaging than the other but if both teams were in the same position in a playoff race, a top pitcher like Kershaw would have a more noticeable absence in his 4 starts than a 4 game absence from one of the top hitters.