Athletics’ Caudill Breaks Hand in Altercation

Relief pitcher Bill Caudill of the Oakland Athletics broke his right hand Saturday when he punched a man who allegedly tried to assault Caudill’s wife in the parking lot of a hotel, a club official said in Oakland.

Caudill, who had pitched in six games for the A’s with one save, was placed on the 21-day disabled list, and outfielder Dwayne Murphy was reactivated.

“He just walked right up and started screaming at me,” said Caudill, whose family stays at the Oakland Hyatt Hotel during A’s home stands. “The security people told me they had just kicked him out of the bar, but they didn’t bother to get him off the grounds.”

The incident occurred in the morning before Oakland’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

Caudill, 31, was making a comeback with the A’s this year. In 1984, he saved 36 games for Oakland but was traded to Toronto before the ’85 season. He had arm trouble with Blue Jays and saved only 16 games combined in ’85 and ’86.