NEW YORK — The saga involving Rhys Hoskins and the New York Mets continued Sunday morning with the announcement of two suspensions.
Major League Baseball suspended Mets reliever Yohan Ramírez for three games Saturday for intentionally throwing Hoskins, the Milwaukee Brewers’ designated hitter. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was also suspended for one game.
Mendoza will serve his suspension on Sunday, the league announced. Just two games into his coaching career, Mendoza was suspended.
Ramirez has appealed and his discipline will wait until the appeal process is complete.
On Saturday, Ramírez was ejected for throwing behind Hoskins in the seventh inning. By then, Hoskins had already had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs.
Ramírez, Mendoza and Brewers manager Pat Murphy each said they did not believe there was malicious intent.
“I was trying to throw my sinker inside,” Ramírez said, “and sometimes when I try to throw it inside too, the ball runs. In those days, I didn’t have the the grip I wanted.
Hoskins didn’t seem as convinced.
“Big players don’t miss eight feet,” he said of the fickle terrain. “Whether it was on purpose or not is really not up to me.” But this game has had a way of controlling itself for many, many years. So let’s focus on the right way if we want to achieve this.
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Hoskins’ sudden slide toward second base on Friday angered the Mets’ Jeff McNeil. The infielder immediately began yelling and pointing at Hoskins, prompting the benches to clear. The Mets argued that Hoskins’ slide was later than it should have been and that it was not the first time Hoskins entered second base like McNeil’s.
On Saturday, the crowd at Citi Field constantly booed Hoskins every time he came to bat. By the fourth time, a runner was on base when Ramírez’s first pitch to Hoskins sailed behind him.
“It seems like bad baseball for them to try to put a runner on second base with less than two outs in a semi-close game where you’re losing,” Hoskins said of the timing. “I guess the Brewers are in a better position to win the game every time.”
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(Photo: Christophe Pasatieri / Getty Images)