Phillies' Papelbon Ejected, Fined, Suspended For Gesture Toward Crowd [VIDEO]

By Dan Jenkins
@DanTJenkins

(97.1 The Ticket) -- Detroit Tigers fans are no strangers to receiving on-the-field feedback from their closer -- Joe Nathan silently gave Comerica Park his thoughts after he was booed for a rough outing, but ultimately apologized.

Philadelphia Phillies fans have had a rough season, which got worse Sunday when closer Jonathan Pabelbon gave up four runs in the ninth inning to blow a 4-1 lead.

As he walked off the field after finally ending the inning, Pabelbon gave his own silent message to critical Phillies fans by grabbing his jock strap in a suggestive way, or so the MLB believes.

Judge for yourself -- was Papelbon signaling to the crowd?

After getting to the dugout, umpire Joe West gave Papelbon the heave for the gesture, which Papelbon adamantly protested. Monday, the MLB issued a seven-game suspension and a fine for the incident.

Were Papelbon's actions worth a suspension? Was it worse than what Joe Nathan did?

In:
• MLB
• Philadelphia Phillies