David Ortiz didn’t kick up a fuss Tuesday upon hearing he was suspended for one game and fined by Major League Baseball for his actions Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
The slugger instead acknowledged that he filed an appeal and remained mostly quiet on the topic before the Boston Red Sox’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
“It’s part of the game,” Ortiz told reporters in St. Petersburg, Fla. “They’re not perfect. They got rules, man. They do what they have to do.”
Ortiz was disciplined for making contact with home plate umpire John Tumpane after being ejected in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game against the O’s. Ortiz disagreed with a pair of check-swing calls made by third base umpire Jerry Meals and voiced his displeasure, prompting the ejection.
Ortiz’s argument with the umpires was very animated. He also slammed his bat and threw his elbow guard before leaving the field. Ortiz said Tuesday he couldn’t recall bumping Tumpane, though, and Red Sox manager John Farrell suggested it wasn’t intentional if there indeed was contact.
“That was kind of a weird situation, where I’m arguing with the third base umpire and the home plate umpire is the one who was kicking me out of the game,” Ortiz said of his ejection. “But whatever. I’m just appealing it, and I’m going to go from there.”
Since Ortiz appealed the suspension, he remained in the Red Sox’s starting lineup for Tuesday’s contest.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
