OAKLAND — Major League Baseball handed down its punishments to Oakland A’s outfielder Ramón Laureano and Houston Astros hitting coach Alex Cintrón for their roles in Sunday’s brawl. Cintrón will receive a 20-game suspension, effective immediately, and Laureano a six-game suspension.
Laureano will appeal his suspension, per MLB. That means the outfielder will play in games until his hearing, date to be determined.
Punishments were issued in response to a fight that broke out when, after Laureano was hit by a pitch, Cintrón began hurling fighting words at Laureano. The A’s outfielder tried to brush him off, but Cintrón’s comment about Laureano’s mother angered him, and Laureano charged the dugout.
“I regret charging that guy because he’s a loser,” Laureano said in an interview with ESPN.
In a statement made through the Astros, Cintrón denied making a comment about Laureano’s mother.
“Although I never referenced Ramón’s mother, my actions were inappropriate,” Cintrón said.
Astros catcher Dustin Garneau, a former Athletic, wrapped Laureano up to prevent punches from being thrown.
The kerfuffle started when Laureano was hit by a pitch for the third time in the three-game series. On his way to first base, Laureano tried to explain to the inexperienced rookie pitcher, Humberto Castellanos, how to properly throw a slider so that it wouldn’t hit a batter. It escalated when Cintrón said something offensive.
“When it comes to social distancing during a pandemic I look like not a very smart guy,” Laureano said to reporters. “But you’re emotional, especially about when it’s about your mother.”
Per MLB’s new rules, coronavirus-related social distancing protocols mandate harsh punishments for physical contact with opposing teams: “Fighting and instigating fights are strictly prohibited. Players must not make physical contact with others for any reason unless it occurs in normal and permissible game action. Violations of these rules will result in severe discipline consistent with past precedent, which discipline shall not be reduced or prorated based on the length of the season.”
Cintrón’s 20-game suspension is the longest issued for any on-field action in MLB history. The former player — along with Carlos Beltran and Alex Cora — has been cited as one of the driving forces behind the Astros’ trash can banging scheme. Cintrón was not named in MLB’s investigation and didn’t receive punishment.
Laureano is the first A’s player to be penalized by MLB for an on-field incident in nearly a decade. The last time MLB levied punishment against an A’s player was when Josh Willingham was suspended for a game in 2011 for bumping into umpire Bill Miller after being ejected for arguing a called third strike in Kansas City.
With video and microphones around the ballpark picking up more sounds unmitigated by crowd noises, A’s manager Bob Melvin implicitly nudged the league to zero in on Cintrón as the clear agitator.
“Ramón doesn’t go there unless something completely offensive came out of the dugout,” Melvin said in the immediate aftermath. “And I think the league knows who that is. And that person should be suspended. So hopefully that’s the case.”
Laureano understood his role in the skirmish, too. He and his teammates said a coach should be held to a higher standard.
“Ramon’s the type of guy, he has a lot of energy,” A’s pitcher Frankie Montas said. “For him to do that, somebody’s got to say something. I saw the replays, and I kind of saw one of the coaches (Cintrón) say something to him, like, ‘Hey, come here.’
“From a player’s side, hey, you don’t want a coach to try to provoke you. For any man to do that, I don’t know.”
“I guess it was fun for (Cintrón) to do that,” Laureano said. “But I’m a man, I’m a freaking man. Whatever happens, happens. And I’ll take it. I couldn’t keep my cool and I should have and I wasted my time with that guy.”
Laureano has been the A’s hottest hitter since the season began. If he doesn’t win an appeal, a bat that’s squeezed out a .263/.405/.491slash line with three home runs could drop his appeal following the series against the Los Angeles Angels — allowing him to serve the suspension during the A’s series against the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks and return for key series against the Texas Rangers and, of course, the Astros.
“It’s going to be tough trying to replace Ramón,” A’s assistant hitting coach Eric Martins said. “I think our lineup is so deep, and guys are having good at bats and we’re starting to get back into the routine and back to who they are. I think we’ll be OK.”
“He’s irreplaceable,” manager Bob Melvin said. Though, the A’s have the appropriate depth to cover for him in the outfield and in his two-spot in the lineup.
Mark Canha and Chad Pinder are among those who can shore up the loss in centerfield. But, the combination of speed, on-base-ability and power will be difficult to replace in that second spot. Melvin mentioned Tony Kemp and Robbie Grossman as players that could move up to the two-hole.
Kemp has been an on base machine with a .467 OBP that includes five hits and two walks in his last 12 at bats — he’s a base-stealing threat in a time when not many bases are being stolen, granted. Grossman is producing similar numbers, slashing .282/.429/.513. He’s been generating consistent contact and has three stolen bases.