SAN DIEGO — San Diego Padres star Manny Machado denied he made contact with plate umpire Bill Welke after being ejected for arguing a called third strike Saturday night and said he’ll appeal his one-game suspension and fine.
“I’ve just never seen anyone get suspended for arguing balls and strikes, so we’ll see what happens,” Machado said before Monday night’s game with Milwaukee.
MLB said the punishment, imposed by Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre, was for “aggressively arguing and making contact” with Welke.
Asked if he made contact, Machado said: “Not that I believe, so no, but everyone has their own right to write what they want.