Tim Anderson is issuing an apology for his actions after his fight with Jose Ramirez a few weeks ago.
In a statement posted to his Instagram, Anderson said, “I want to apologize to the entire White Sox organization, my teammates, manager and coaches and to the fans for my part in the altercation which took place in Cleveland. This has been an incredibly disappointing season for me personally and for our team. I will not get into the things that were said to me by Cleveland players both Friday night and Saturday, but those comments do not excuse my language or conduct, and I take full responsibility for my emotions getting the better of me. The Cleveland players are free to say whatever they want, but I will just say that no one has more respect for the game of baseball than me. I look forward to returning after serving my suspension and finishing the season playing the best baseball I can to help my team.”
RELATED: Jose Ramirez Cracks A Joke After Knocking Out Tim Anderson: ‘I Felt I Was Able To Land One’
As we previously reported, the fight went down in the bottom of the sixth inning as the White Sox led 5-1. In the viral video that is all over social media, Ramirez can be seen sliding into second base underneath Anderson’s legs and then the two baseball players began to exchange some words and that’s when Anderson threw his gloves off and they both started throwing punches. Ultimately the fight was cut short after Ramirez seemingly dropped Anderson and the two players were separated shortly after.
After the fight, Ramirez had an interview where he had a couple of words for Anderson. “I felt I was able to land one,” Ramirez said through a translator. “He’s been disrespecting the game for a while,” he continued. “When he does something like that on the bases, he can get somebody out of the game. So I was telling him to stop doing that. After he tapped me really hard, more than needed, he said he wanted to fight and I had to defend myself.”
Anderson was not available to comment after the game. Both Ramirez and Anderson, along with the four others who were sent to the showers early, were suspended for their actions. Anderson had to physically be carried off of the field.
Guardians manager Terry Francona said he wasn’t sure what prompted the fight but said Anderson was told by one of the umpires to stop jawing at Guardians rookie Gabriel Arias. Francona and White Sox manager Pedro Grifol each had words for each other. Grifol said he wasn’t going to comment directly on the fight.
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