Major League Baseball has announced the suspension of Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Brook Jacoby for 14 games without pay for an incident following Toronto’s 4-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on April 29.
The Blue Jays say they will appeal the suspension. Unlike players, the punishment for coaches is not held back until the hearing, so Jacoby’s suspension will begin immediately.
Members of the Blue Jays staff along with Jacoby were reportedly involved in an exchange with umpire Bill Miller and his crew as they left the Fenway Park field after Jays catcher Russell Martin was called out on a strike three call to end the game.
The way Fenway Park is designed, umpires use the same tunnel as the visiting team to exit the field, so it is assumed that is when the altercation acquired. As reported by Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair, league officials have made the decision that visiting teams at Fenway will now have to wait for the umpires to walk off the field before they can leave the dugout.