John Farrell poked umpire Bill Miller in the chest Saturday night, and now he’s paying the price.
The Boston Red Sox manager was fined and suspended one game Tuesday for his actions during an incident with Miller during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, Major League Baseball announced.
Farrell will serve the suspension Tuesday, sitting out Boston’s game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park. Bench coach Gary DiSarcina will take over as the team’s acting manager.
Farrell got into a very animated argument with Miller, the third base umpire and crew chief in Saturday night’s game, after Miller called a balk on Red Sox pitcher Fernando Abad that caused a run to score. The Sox skipper poked Miller in the chest during the confrontation, immediately prompting the ump to eject him.
“Time was clearly called before the balk was called, so that was the dispute,” Farrell insisted after the game, a 6-3 Boston loss.
Miller, meanwhile, saw it differently.
“We went back to John and told him the balk happened before time was called,” Miller said. “John didn’t accept that answer and he was quite adamant that time had been called first and therefore the balk should have been nullified.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
