Papelbon not the only one suspended for incident in Philly

Jonathan Papelbon was not the only one suspended for his now infamous crotch grab towards booing Philadelphia Phillies fans. As it turns out one of the umpires that ejected Papelbon from the game has to suffer a consequence for the altercation that occurred after the ejection.

Papelbon was suspended for seven games on Monday, not necessarily for his inappropriate gesture to the fans but for bumping not one but both of the umpires he argued with over the ejection.

Player and umpire contact is not allowed and while Papelbon was arguing with umpires Joe West and Marty Foster, West apparently grabbed Papelbon’s jersey to push him away.

The incident has now resulted in disciplinary action not just for Papelbon, which was expected, but for West as well. Wednesday morning West was handed a one game suspension for his part in the incident according to Major League Baseball’s PR department on Twitter.

The tweet included a statement from Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations, Joe Torre.

"“Joe West handled himself appropriately in ejecting Papelbon after the player’s lewd gesture to the fans,” Torre said in a statement. “I fully understand that Joe was reacting to a player who was acting aggressively, and can understand his frustration with the situation. However, Joe knows that an umpire cannot initiate physical contact with a player just as a player cannot initiate physical contact with an umpire. I spoke to Joe about the incident, and he admitted that there was a better way to handle the situation. I consider this matter closed.”"

West will serve his suspension Wednesday. He was scheduled to umpire a game against the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays.