BALTIMORE – Gary Sheffield doesn’t believe he should be punished for his role in Thursday’s confrontation with a fan at Fenway Park and will fight any discipline, his agent said Friday, adding that Sheffield’s reaction to being touched by the spectator during play was “commendable.”
“Absolutely not,” the agent, Rufus Williams, said when asked if the Yankee right fielder did anything wrong in the eighth-inning incident. “I would not expect him to be suspended.”
Major league baseball’s disciplinarian, Bob Watson, is reviewing tapes of the incident and will make a decision on any fine or suspension, though word isn’t expected until after the weekend.
It’s hard to point to a comparable situation that would provide a precedent in this case, but Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco was suspended for 15 games last fall after throwing a chair into the stands and hitting a spectator during an altercation between fans and players; considering those circumstances, it’s difficult to imagine Sheffield getting suspended for more than a game or two, if he is disciplined.
George Steinbrenner released a statement on the situation, saying only, “It’s in the commissioner’s hands.”
GM Brian Cashman did not return a phone call.
Joe Torre said he would be surprised if Sheffield was suspended because, in his opinion, the fan had malicious intent when he reached over the short fence as Sheffield chased down Jason Varitek’s triple. The fan made contact with Sheffield’s face and, while other spectators in the area said they believed the fan was just trying to pick up the ball, most Yankees -including Torre- found that hard to believe.
“I didn’t think there was any doubt in my mind that it was on purpose,” Torre said. “He knew what he wanted to do.”
After contact was made, Sheffield threw two hands up in the direction of the fan, seemingly trying to push him back. He said he doesn’t believe he ever made contact with the fan and, after throwing the ball back to the infield, returned to the fence to confront the fan.
He cocked his fist as though he might throw a punch, but held back.
That restraint drew praise from everyone involved, including MLB’s head of security, Kevin Hallinan, whose spring training presentation on security advises players to do exactly that if a potentially explosive situation arises.
“We were pleased that our training was successful,” he said.
Hallinan, who is reviewing the security procedures related to the incident, met with Sheffield in Torre’s office at Camden Yards on Friday, one of two discussions Sheffield had with MLB officials. He said he was not asked to give his version of the events in either meeting, but simply was advised not to comment publicly on the situation.
But Sheffield did speak to reporters before Friday night’s game, saying he had watched replays of the incident in the morning. What did he think when he saw the tape?
“I didn’t know all that took place in that short a period of time,” Sheffield said with a laugh. “It was just a strange situation.”
After being pulled away from the fence on Thursday, Sheffield felt his mouth several times and checked his hand for blood, saying afterward that he thought the blow from the fan might have split his lip. His face felt better Thursday, though.
“It wasn’t a hard enough punch to knock me out or anything,” he said.
Sheffield said he hadn’t had any problems with the fans in right before the incident – just the usual heckling Sox fans give all Yankees – but does think MLB needs to recognize the ramifications of having fans so close to the field of play.
“They want to make it fan-friendly,” he said. “They want people close to the field and want people to be involved in the game. But there’s a price to pay for that.”
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AP-NY-04-15-05 2117EDT
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