Baseball Guru
08-27-2003, 06:40 PM
By Associated Press
August 27, 2003, 1:29 AM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Pacific Coast League has fined and suspended almost the entire Portland Beavers team after the players chased a fan during a game earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Tagg Bozied was suspended for eight games and virtually every other Beaver at the game was suspended for four.
The league did not disclose the severity of the fines, which were levied late Monday.
The suspensions leave the Beavers, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, short-handed as they attempt to win a playoff spot.
Manager Rick Sweet must sit out at least three players every game for the rest of the season. He had nine position players available for Tuesday night's game. Some of the suspensions will have to carry over to 2004.
The suspensions extend throughout the minor leagues, so players who leave the Beavers in the offseason will have to finish their suspensions if they catch on with another minor league team.
Players and team officials would not discuss the fight.
The trouble began when Jim Lowe, a Las Vegas fan, heckled Bozied throughout the game. The two had words after the game and Lowe threw a soft stress-relief ball -- a Cashman Field giveaway -- at Bozied.
Nineteen Beavers then rushed into the stands and got into a scrum with Lowe on a concourse. Lowe had cuts and bruises, but declined medical treatment at the scene, Las Vegas 51s general manager Don Logan told The Oregonian.
August 27, 2003, 1:29 AM EDT
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Pacific Coast League has fined and suspended almost the entire Portland Beavers team after the players chased a fan during a game earlier this month in Las Vegas.
Tagg Bozied was suspended for eight games and virtually every other Beaver at the game was suspended for four.
The league did not disclose the severity of the fines, which were levied late Monday.
The suspensions leave the Beavers, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, short-handed as they attempt to win a playoff spot.
Manager Rick Sweet must sit out at least three players every game for the rest of the season. He had nine position players available for Tuesday night's game. Some of the suspensions will have to carry over to 2004.
The suspensions extend throughout the minor leagues, so players who leave the Beavers in the offseason will have to finish their suspensions if they catch on with another minor league team.
Players and team officials would not discuss the fight.
The trouble began when Jim Lowe, a Las Vegas fan, heckled Bozied throughout the game. The two had words after the game and Lowe threw a soft stress-relief ball -- a Cashman Field giveaway -- at Bozied.
Nineteen Beavers then rushed into the stands and got into a scrum with Lowe on a concourse. Lowe had cuts and bruises, but declined medical treatment at the scene, Las Vegas 51s general manager Don Logan told The Oregonian.