NEW YORK — The saga involving Rhys Hoskins and the New York Mets continued Sunday morning with two suspensions announced.
Major League Baseball suspended Mets outfielder Johan Ramirez for three games for intentionally throwing at Hoskins, the Milwaukee Brewers' designated hitter, on Saturday. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza also received a one-game suspension.
The League announced that Mendoza will serve his suspension on Sunday. After just two matches into his managerial career, Mendoza was suspended.
Ramirez has filed an appeal, and will wait to be disciplined until the appeals process is complete.
On Saturday, Ramirez was ejected for throwing behind Hoskins in the seventh inning. By then, Hoskins had already hit three hits, including a home run and four RBIs.
Ramirez, Mendoza and Brewers manager Pat Murphy all said they did not believe there was any malicious intent.
“I was trying to throw my sinker in, and sometimes when I try to get it in too, the ball would come off,” Ramirez said. “In this weather, I didn’t have the control I wanted to have.”
Hoskins didn't seem convinced.
“Big players don't miss by eight feet,” he said of the errant pitch. “Whether it was intentional or not, it's not for me to decide. But this game has had a way of adjusting itself for many years. So let's focus on doing it the right way if we want to do it.”
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On Friday, Hoskins' hard slide into second base angered Mets reliever Jeff McNeil. The player immediately began shouting and pointing at Hoskins, prompting the benches to vacate. The Mets maintained that Hoskins' slide was later than it should have been and that this was not the first time Hoskins had gone to second base like the one on McNeil.
On Saturday, the crowd at Citi Field constantly booed Hoskins every time he came to bat. By the fourth over, the runner was on base when Ramirez first sailed to Hoskins behind.
“Trying to put a runner on second base with less than two outs in a near-close game where you lose” seems like bad baseball on their part, Hoskins said of the timing. “I would consider the Brewers to be in a better position to win the game every time.”
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(Photo: Christopher Passatieri/Getty Images)
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