Major League Baseball announced on Saturday that Tim Anderson has received a three-game suspension and a fine for making contact with home plate umpire Nick Mahrley. The amount of the fine has not been disclosed.
Anderson is appealing the suspension, so he was still in the starting lineup for Saturday night's contest against the Oakland Athletics.
The incident leading to the suspension occurred in the seventh inning of Friday night's game. After taking a borderline pitch that was called a strike, Anderson turned around in disbelief and voiced his displeasure. After exchanging pleasantries, Anderson began to step away before turning around to get one last verbal jab in. Mahrley promptly threw him out of the game.
Then Anderson lost it. He sized up Mahrley and got right in his face, bumping the brim of Mahrley's cap with his helmet. Tony La Russa rushed out of the dugout to intervene and was also ejected. The White Sox would go on to lose 7-3.
Anderson has got to know better. This isn't the first time he has gotten suspended for making contact with an umpire. Last season he was handed a three-game suspension for making contact with an umpire during a benches-clearing brawl in Detroit. Anderson also choose to appeal that suspension. The suspension was upheld. He served two games of it during the end of the 2021 regular season but had to serve the last game on Opening Day. With the calendar set to flip to August, every game grows increasingly important as the White Sox try to claw their way into first place. Being handicapped because Anderson lost his cool does not help matters. Anderson is batting .310 with six home runs and 12 stolen bases. As he has for much of his career, he remains the catalyst for the White Sox offense. Now the White Sox will have to find a new leadoff man to replace their All-Star shortstop for three games.
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