CHICAGO — White Sox All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson was suspended three games and fined an undisclosed amount of money for making helmet to hat contact with home plate umpire Nick Mahrley during Friday night’s game against the Oakland A’s.
Anderson appealed the suspension, making him eligible for the White Sox’s 3-2 win over Oakland on Saturday.
Anderson, 29, was unhappy with a first pitch strike call by Mahrley in the bottom of the seventh inning. The two had words before Mahrley ejected Anderson who then approached the umpire, making contact between his helmet and Mahrley’s cap.
The jaw-to-jaw argument went on for a few more moments before manager Tony La Russa came out to take up the fight. He was ejected a few moments later. If the appeal is upheld, Anderson will serve his second suspension this season, his first stemming from an incident that occurred last September where he made contact with an umpire during a bench-clearing fight with the Detroit Tigers.
Before Saturday’s game, La Russa said he watched video from the incident and expressed “there’s an argument to be made in Tim’s favor, so we’ll see.”
“Did you see how the interaction happened?” La Russa added. “The way we see it, there’s an argument to be made that the umpire didn’t move back, he was moving forward as well.”
Anderson missed the first two games of 2022 due to that incident. He was also suspended for a game — but won an appeal — after he made an obscene gesture towards fans in Cleveland back in April. Anderson is appealing the current suspension, which will be held in abeyance until a hearing.
After the A’s won, 7-3, Friday, the White Sox rallied to even the series Saturday. Anderson went 2 for 4, stole his 13th base of the season, and was at the plate when the winning run scored on a wild pitch.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.