Tuesday’s bench-clearing incident between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers may have been entertaining for fans, but Major League Baseball will be particularly unhappy.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that he had spoken to MLB officials about Tuesday’s incident and they were “not pleased” due to the lack of social distancing. Roberts added that he plans to address his team prior to Wednesday’s game about the necessity of staying on the bench.
#Dodgers manager Dave Robert said that he got a call from #MLB officials and expects a decision soon on discipline for Joe Kelly. He also said MLB officials "weren't pleased'' with players and staff not observing the social distance protocols.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 29, 2020
Dave Roberts plans to address his #Dodgers team before game: "I'm going to talk to the guys today briefly about leaving the bench. MLB is really serious about this, as well as they should be. I have to reiterate it to guys, at any cost, to stay on the bench.''
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 29, 2020
Things heated up after Joe Kelly taunted Carlos Correa following a strikeout, and both benches cleared. No punches were thrown. Due to social distancing restrictions, however, any sort of brawling or on-field altercation is strictly prohibited in 2020 and punishable by the league. That’s one thing the league office will be looking at when handing out any potential discipline.
