Former MLB player Alex Romero was just hit with a 20-game ban for attacking a catcher with his bat this month ... the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League announced.
As we previously reported, Aguilas del Zulia and Caribes de Anzoategui were involved a heated match on Jan. 8 ... where pitchers were throwing at batters all night.
But tensions spilled into an all-out riot in the 8th inning ... when Romero -- an ex-Arizona Diamondback -- was nearly plunked in the back by an Angel Nesbitt fastball.
The video of what happened next is shocking .