Josh Donaldson was involved in a minor scuffle with Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Joe Musgrove last Monday. It was so minor, in fact, that you may not have even heard anything about it. Fortunately, the suspension Donaldson was hit with over the incident has been overturned.
Donaldson and Musgrove were ejected along with Pirates manager Clint Hurdle after a bunch of shouting and “what the f— are you looking at?” was tossed back and forth. The exchange came after Musgrove grazed Donaldson with an inside pitch, and the benches cleared over the Atlanta Braves infielder’s reaction.
Benches clear as #Braves' Josh Donaldson is hit by a pitch by Pirates' Joe Musgrove. pic.twitter.com/7xKeHgC9Fn
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) June 10, 2019
It was a glorified shoving match, essentially, but Major League Baseball still felt Donaldson should be held accountable for sparking it. The veteran was hit with a one-game suspension, but ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that he won his appeal and the ban has been overturned.
Atlanta Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson won his appeal and will not be suspended after a benches-clearing incident with Pittsburgh, a source tells ESPN. Donaldson originally was suspended for one game. His fine for the incident was also reduced to $1,000.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) June 21, 2019
If MLB simply had to do something, a $1,000 fine seems appropriate. Compared to some of the baseball fights we have seen in the past, that was basically a whole bunch of nothing.
