MILWAUKEE (AP) – Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers had his hearing before commissioner Bud Selig on Friday, appealing his 20-game suspension for shoving two TV cameramen last month.
Rogers, wearing sunglasses, black slacks and a gray sport coat, wouldn’t comment on what was discussed during the session when he emerged at 5:20 p.m. Asked how it went, he responded: “We’ll see. We’ll be waiting for a decision.”
He was accompanied by players union lawyers Bob Lenaghan and Mike Weiner.
“The hearing was completed,” Weiner said.
He said the only witness was Rogers, and the hearing included oral arguments and a discussion of precedent.
Selig imposed the 20-game suspension and a $50,000 fine for a June 29 videotaped tirade in which the three-time All-Star shoved two cameramen when he came onto the field for pregame stretching.
Major League Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said there was no timeline on when Selig would announce a decision on the appeal.
The three-hour hearing included comments back and forth, as both sides stated their positions, he said.
“It’s all in the commissioner’s hands,” Courtney said.
Rogers (11-4, 2.71 ERA) has continued to pitch pending a decision and even threw an inning in the All-Star game last week. The 40-year-old left-hander threw 107 pitches Thursday in a home loss to Oakland.
His next scheduled start is Tuesday but he could pitch as soon as Monday on three days rest if there is no decision on the appeal by then.
After Selig rules, the Major League Players Association could take the case to an arbitrator over the fact Selig issued the penalty instead of baseball’s head disciplinarian, Bob Watson.
Rogers turned himself in Monday to police in Arlington, Texas, on misdemeanor assault charges and posted a $1,500 bond.
He faces a charge of assault with injury for shoving cameraman Larry Rodriguez, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
Police said the other charge, for pushing a cameraman who wasn’t injured, will be a mailed assault citation punishable by a fine of up to $500.
AP-ES-07-22-05 1906EDT
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