PITTSBURGH -- Pirates pitcher Dennis Santana has received a four-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for his aggressive conduct toward a fan on Thursday, Major League Baseball announced prior to Friday’s night's 6-2 series-opening loss to the Rangers at PNC Park.
Santana has elected to appeal the decision, and discipline will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.
The incident took place in the seventh inning of the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Tigers at Comerica Park. Words were exchanged between Santana, who was in the bullpen, and the fan in the bleachers, and with security close by, Santana made a leap to try to reach the fan. Bullpen coach Miguel Perez and bullpen catcher Raúl Hernández intervened to separate the pitcher and the fan.
Postgame, Santana declined to share what the fan said.
“You guys know me and I’m a calm-demeanor type of person,” Santana said on Thursday, via interpreter and coach Stephen Morales. “I’ve never had any issues with any of the teams that I’ve played for and I guess the guy crossed the line a few times. I would not like to go into it.”
This is the first time in Santana’s eight-year career that he has received a suspension.
In a postgame discussion, Santana told Bucs manager Don Kelly, “I regret what I did.” On Friday, Kelly didn’t condone his reliever’s actions, but he spoke with empathy.
“Everybody in here knows Dennis Santana and how cool, calm, collected he is and what type of guy he is,” Kelly said. “I think that, as a player, looking back at my career, when you go on the road, you expect ribbing. You expect certain things to happen from a fan’s standpoint, but there’s a certain line that you can go up to. And from my understanding, the line was crossed yesterday.”
“They crossed the line too many times,” Santana said. “It doesn’t justify my actions, but it was too much.”