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MLB announced Monday that it has suspended Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon for a physical confrontation with a fan.
MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill made the announcement while noting that the suspension is for Rendon’s “actions involving a fan last Thursday.”
Rendon immediately appealed the suspension, and the process quickly played out, resulting in a four-game ban, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. That’s one fewer than the original five. Rendon will begin serving the suspension with the Angels’ game Monday against the Seattle Mariners.
The incident took place after the A’s 2-1 win over the Angels in Oakland on Opening Day and was recorded on video. Rendon confronted a fan in the stands as he walked off the field. Video shows Rendon reaching into the stands and grabbing the shirt of the fan before a tense exchange.
(Warning: Video contains obscene language.)
“What’d you say? Yeah, you called me b****, huh?” Rendon said. “Yeah, you did. Yeah, you did. Yeah, motherf***er.”
Rendon swiped at the fan’s face with his left hand, then walked away. He did not make contact with his swipe. It’s not clear what happened prior to the confrontation, and the fan’s response to Rendon was unintelligible. MLB announced at the time that it was investigating the incident.
Rendon played Game 2 of the series Saturday. He repeatedly declined to address the incident pregame while speaking with reporters, citing MLB’s then-ongoing investigation.
Rendon did not play Game 3 of the series Sunday. He said Monday that he’s since spoken with the fan and that they apologized to each other, per the OC Register.
Rendon, 32, is in his 11th MLB season and fourth with the Angels. A former All-Star with the Washington Nationals, he has been limited by injury during his Angels stint, having played 58 games or fewer in each of the past two seasons. He’s slashing .249/.356/.415 with 20 home runs, 90 RBIs and two stolen bases in 159 games since joining the Angels during the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season.