"Softest suspension in any sport" - Fans outraged after Matt Chapman's sole suspension in bench-clearing drama

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman has been handed a one-game suspension along with a fine for his part in the benches-clearing incident in Tuesday's game against the Colorado Rockies.

The Giants infielder was the only player to receive a ban, as his teammates, Rafael Devers and Willy Adames, were slapped with fines along with Rockies starter Kyle Freeland.

Champan was banned since he was the initial instigator in the incident, as he shoved Freeland, which eventually led to a bench-clearing brawl.

However, MLB fans don't believe Chapman's antics deserved a ban.

"Softest suspension I’ve ever seen in any sport," wrote a fan.

"With that logic you should be suspended for hitting batters with the ball 100% of times," wrote another.

"For Pushing? Game’s gone soft," wrote a fan.

Several fans took exception to the fact that Kyle Freeland didn't receive a heavier punishment for his actions.

"Should suspend kyle freeland for being terrible at baseball," a fan mocked the Rockies starter.

"1 game ban for giving up a home run and being mad about it," joked a fan.

Giants manager Bob Melvin backs Matt Chapman as infielder appeals against suspension

Matt Chapman is appealing the one-game suspension, allowing him to play the series finale between the teams on Wednesday. While MLB deemed Chapman as the primary instigator for the brawl, Giants manager Bob Melvin thinks otherwise.

“We didn’t feel like we started it,” Melvin said before Wednesday’s game. “It is what it is. We’ll deal with it going forward. We’ll see what happens in the appeal.”

Meanwhile, the Rockies staff, interim manager Warren Schaeffer, backed Kyle Freeland for protesting against Rafael Devers that led to the benches-clearing incident.

"[Devers] watched [his homer] for a while longer than Kyle liked. Kyle took offense to it, felt disrespected ... I back him 100% on that,” Schaeffer said. “I will always back Kyle.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash