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Two days after a bench-clearing altercation between the Twins and the Tigers, MLB finally decided they think Miguel Sano deserves a one-game suspension for his “aggressive actions” related to the incident. Sano himself and the Twins, however, disagree, and are appealing the decision—as they very well should.
Though it appeared at first that Miguel Sano threw a punch at Tigers catcher James McCann, replays clearly show he was really trying to push McCann away from him. McCann, for some reason, decided to jump up and put his catcher’s mitt and hand over Sano’s face when he started yelling at Matt Boyd for trying to hit him with a pitch.
The pitch actually went behind Sano, but Boyd was ejected from the game for it. Sano was also ejected, which was the proper amount of disciplinary action in this case—except now MLB wants this one-game suspension too.
Obviously, the suspension is bull, and the Twins and Sano are fighting back. “We feel we’re going to have a fairly legitimate case,” Paul Molitor told reporters after Monday night’s game. “I’ve talked to Miggy, and he’s glad to hear we plan to support him in every way we can to try to get this thing reduced.”
Sano is allowed to stay in the lineup during the appeal, which should be decided by MLB within the next ten days. GM Thad Levine and Sano’s agent Jay-Z Kyle Thousand of Roc Nation Sports will make a case on Sano’s behalf by, according to what Levine told reporters, "providing video and some commentary around the situation that Major League Baseball may otherwise not have the benefit of."
Sano was the only one who received a suspension for the incident, which he didn’t even start. For what it’s worth, though, pitcher Matt Boyd was fined for throwing at Sano, and Sano was also fined for the incident.
But James McCann—the guy who jumped up and basically slapped Sano in the face with his catcher’s mitt? Nothing. No ejection. No suspension. No fine.