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Sheffield will not face sanctions after run-in

Gary Sheffield of the New York Yankees checks his face as manager Joe Torre looks on after Sheffield after last week's altercation with a Boston Red Sox fan. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Sam Borden New York Daily News
Gary Sheffield of the New York Yankees checks his face as manager Joe Torre looks on after Sheffield after last week's altercation with a Boston Red Sox fan. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

TORONTO – Gary Sheffield claimed over and over that he did nothing wrong in last Thursday’s incident with a fan at Fenway Park, and Wednesday baseball agreed with him.

The Yankees right fielder won’t be fined or suspended for his role in the situation, commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement released before a night game against the Blue Jays. The fan faces the possibility of misdemeanor criminal charges. Boston police filed applications for such charges against Chris House, who allegedly touched Sheffield, and another unidentified fan who allegedly threw beer at Sheffield; a clerk magistrate will determine whether that action should proceed.

The Red Sox stripped House of his season tickets and barred the other fan from buying tickets at Fenway this year.

“It just proves that I was right,” Sheffield said, adding that he had not yet decided whether he would press charges against House.

Sheffield and his agent, Rufus Williams, met with Bob Watson, MLB’s dean of discipline, Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Sheffield said Wednesday he was optimistic he wouldn’t be punished after that sit-down went well.

During the meeting (which was also attended by Yanks COO Lonn Trost and a lawyer for the Players’ Association), Sheffield explained his thinking during the bizarre sequence that took place in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 8-5 loss.

While fielding Jason Varitek’s triple along the right-field fence, Sheffield appeared to be hit in the face by House. While holding the live ball, he reached up and made a shoving motion in House’s direction, then threw the ball in and rushed back over to the fence to confront House but did not escalate the incident.

“We do not condone any interaction between the fans and players whether initiated by either fans or players,” Selig said. “I am pleased that Gary Sheffield showed restraint in not overreacting to the improper and clearly aggressive action of the fan in question.”

It appears the crucial element to Watson’s decision was his interpretation of Sheffield’s actions as purely defensive.

Watson concluded that Sheffield “swung his arms in an effort to extricate himself from the situation and to avoid further abuse, then completed the play and returned to confront the fan,” according to the statement. “At that time no further altercation occurred, Red Sox security stepped in promptly and order was restored.”