Report: David Ortiz Fined 'Significant' Amount For Smashing Telephone
BOSTON (CBS) -- It will likely go down as the most expensive telephone bill David Ortiz has ever received in his life.
The Red Sox designated hitter was not suspended for his dugout outburst in Baltimore last weekend, one in which he used his bat to smash a dugout telephone to bits. However, he was fined a "significant" amount by Major League Baseball for the rage-filled eruption, according to The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo.
The flare-up took place after Ortiz disagreed with home plate umpire Tim Timmons' high strike call on a 3-0 count, and then disagreed with Timmons' strike two call on a pitch that looked to be outside. After swinging and missing at strike three, Ortiz shouted at Timmons while pointing to the brim of his helmet, indicating how high he thought the pitch was. When Ortiz got to the dugout, he took several hard whacks at the telephone, sending shards of plastic flying through the dugout and causing teammate Dustin Pedroia to cover his head for protection. Ortiz was ejected and needed to be restrained in front of the dugout before making his way back to the clubhouse.
Since the incident, Ortiz is 8-for-22 (.364) with a double, a home run and four RBIs, while the Red Sox have gone 4-1 in five games.
"I got 17 years in the league and I don't think I deserve to be disrespected like that. You want to get respect from the players, you respect the players. That was horrible. Both of the pitches, not one," Ortiz said after the game that night. "The funny thing is he wanted to act like it was the right call. I don't play that. I hit. You're not going to take my at-bats away."
Not only did the umpire take his at-bat away, but now MLB has taken some of his money, too.
