Right before game time today, it was announced that Tim Anderson would be given a one-game suspension for “making an obscene gesture” towards fans in Cleveland on Wednesday. Anderson remains in the lineup tonight, after choosing to appeal the suspension.
If you haven’t guessed what the “obscene gesture” is, well, here you are:
You can barely hear it in the video, but the gesture came after a fan yelled, “Hey Tim, nice hit buddy!” after Anderson grounded out to end the top of the eighth inning. It was obviously a sarcastic remark, and Anderson responded in kind. The incident was caught on video, and the suspension came down just a couple of days later.
Anderson is appealing this suspension, and should it hold, this will be the third game he will serve a suspension for in 2022. You’ll recall that Anderson missed the first two games from a suspension resulting from an altercation with an umpire during the final series of the 2021 season with Detroit.
MLB has pretty arbitrarily handled these sorts of altercations. As you’ll see in the videos and comments below, there were little to no repercussions for these similar actions from Nick Senzel and Javier Baez. So, at current, you can understand White Sox fans’ outrage over the suspension – no matter how minor it may appear to be.
We will keep you updated as we learn if Anderson’s suspension is upheld. For now, Anderson is in the lineup, and the White Sox have a game to win.
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Featured Image: White Sox / Twitter
The only finger pointing Tim Anderson should be doing is at himself based on his performance this past week.