San Diego Padres outfielder Milton Bradley will not be suspended for his role in an on-field confrontation with an umpire that left Bradley with an injured knee and the umpire suspended for the rest of the season, baseball’s chief disciplinarian said Thursday, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Bob Watson, Major League Baseball’s vice president of on-field operations, said the fact that Bradley did not make contact with umpire Mike Winters is what saved him from suspension, according to The Times.
Bradley’s manager, Bud Black, wrestled Bradley to the ground as he was trying to get at Winters during a game against the Colorado Rockies last month. In the process, Bradley sustained torn ligaments in his knee that required surgery and was lost for the season.
The Rockies later beat the Padres in a one-game playoff for the National League wild card.
“He didn’t make contact with the guy, thanks to his manager,” Watson said, according to The Times. “If his manager hadn’t gotten him, we’re talking a whole different situation.”
Watson, who attended Thursday’s AL Division Series game in Cleveland between the New York Yankees and the Indians, said MLB had already decided on discipline for Bradley, but declined to address whether Bradley had been fined for the incident, The Times reported.
Winters was suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs after MLB determined he had used a profanity aimed at Bradley.
Source: sports.espn.go.com
