David Price fined for incident with Ortiz, Red Sox

Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston has reported that a baseball source has said that Tampa Bay Rays’ starting pitcher David Price will, in fact, be issued a fine for purposely hitting Red Sox legend David Ortiz in their first meeting since last season’s American League Division Series.

The incident took place last Friday in a game between the two teams at Fenway Park. Price was not happy after the Rays were defeated by the Red Sox in the 2013 post season. Ortiz hit two home runs off of Price in game two of the series. Apparently, Ortiz waited too long in the batters box watching his ball go out of the yard. The home run, however, was almost foul so many believe that Ortiz was waiting to see if he was going to be able to circle the bases or not.

The Rays’ loss in the ALDS prompted some choice words from Price who eventually apologized to Ortiz and the Red Sox via a telephone call. Until Friday, Ortiz was under the impression that the issue had been cleared up. He was wrong. Price threw at Ortiz with intent in Ortiz’s first at-bat of the game.

The drama did not end there. Four Red Sox: themanager, two coaches and pitcher Brandon Workman were all ejected from the ballgame. Workman was ejected for throwing behind Rays’ third baseman Evan Longoria and he was consequently given a six game suspension which he is going to appeal.

It was a mystery to many that Price was not ejected from the game. Whether the pitch was intentional or not, Price hit Mike Carp after being given a warning for hitting Ortiz. He was not ejected, suspended or fined, until now according to a source. The amount of the fine and the timing of when Price was fined are still unclear.

This latest development surely must make Ortiz feel somewhat better. He was clearly enraged earlier this week that Price had received no penalty saying,

"“I guess the rules don’t apply to everyone.”"

After getting out all of his emotions over the weekend, and they were certainly strong. Ortiz said Wednesday that he didn’t expect any animosity to flow over into the two teams’ next series against each other. Being in the same division the Rays and Red Sox will have to play 12 more times before the season ends. Baseball fans can only hope for peace. Ortiz,despite his previous emotions, summed up what should happen saying,

"“Players from this point on need to be smart about how they go about their business. There are a lot of things, but one thing you don’t want to do is put your team in a situation, you know what I’m saying?”"

He is correct. Baseball is a business as much as it is a game. The players need to be professional and play accordingly. Personal problems should not put an entire team in jeopardy. That said, if Price really has been fined, it is a step in the right direction to putting an end to what Ortiz called a “war” last Friday.