Padres Call McGriff Suspension Unfair : Baseball: He and San Francisco’s Wilson are suspended for four days each. Padres argue that Giants pitcher won’t be affected by his suspension.

Is it fair to levy identical suspensions on a position player and a pitcher?

National League President Bill White obviously thought so when he banned Padre first baseman Fred McGriff and Giant pitcher Trevor Wilson for four days each for their brawl in San Francisco last Thursday, but White’s decision didn’t sit well in the Padre clubhouse.

Incidentally, Wilson is scheduled to be in town Thursday night.

Among those Padres willing to be quoted on the subject, the only equitable feature of the twin penalties was that each player was fined the same amount--$1,000.

McGriff drew the suspension and fine for charging the mound and fighting after being hit by one of Wilson’s pitches. Wilson was penalized not for throwing at McGriff--the ball hit McGriff on the right thigh--but for accepting McGriff’s challenge to fight. The errant pitch immediately followed a grand slam by Gary Sheffield that made the score 8-0.

Wilson appealed his suspension, but McGriff began serving his Tuesday. He took batting practice in the cage under the stands at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, then left. He was unavailable for comment.

McGriff wouldn’t have played Tuesday anyway because he has been out since the melee with bruised ribs. However, he was considered likely to return to the lineup here Thursday night against the Giants--no, not against Wilson again--after the Padres take today off. Wilson is due to pitch tonight against the Braves in Atlanta.

Although this boils down to no more than a two-game suspension for McGriff, such a technicality didn’t allay the ire of his colleagues. They noted that Wilson simply might miss the usual four days between starts.

Said Padre pitcher Andy Benes: “I don’t think it’s fair because Fred plays every day and Wilson probably isn’t going to miss a start. He should miss one start at least. We lose an everyday guy who has hit 14 bombs and knocked in almost 50 runs (actually, 46). They lose a guy for his throwing day between starts.”

Infielder Tim Teufel offered this version of equal penalties: “If Fred McGriff is going to miss four days, then Trevor Wilson should miss four starts.”

Relief pitcher Randy Myers noted the difference between suspending a starter and suspending a reliever.

“If it’s a starter, you can just push the guy back, but you wouldn’t want to lose a relief pitcher for four days,” Myers said.

Another reliever, Larry Andersen, said, “It was a blatant beanball that Wilson threw; no question about it. Nobody’s control is quite that bad.”

Outfielder Jerald Clark insisted that McGriff did the right thing when he went after Wilson.

“A guy has to protect himself,” Clark said. “You can’t go up there expecting to be hit and be hit and not do anything about it. What are you going to do, be a wussy? It’s your life, man.”

Padre General Manager Joe McIlvaine did not state a stand. He said simply, “This is a National League decision. It’s up to Freddy as to whether to appeal or not.”

Ed Lynch, the Padres’ farm director and a former pitcher for the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, was asked if he ever had been suspended for throwing at a hitter.

“No, but I was fined,” he said. “I was with the Mets in ’84 and we were playing a doubleheader in Chicago. Ron Darling (now with the Oakland Athletics) had been murdered in the first game and I was getting murdered in the second. A pitch got away from me and hit Keith Moreland.

“Moreland threw a shoulder into me and cut my legs out from under me. Somehow I got out of there unhurt, but that night I received a death threat at the hotel. The Cubs were on their way to winning the division that year, and their fans were out for blood.

“While we were lying at the bottom of the pile, Moreland and I were asking if the other was all right. When I joined the Cubs, we became good friends.”

And what about the equal suspensions of McGriff and Wilson?

“Basically, suspending Wilson for four days has no effect,” Lynch said. “The unique thing about this game is that pitchers and position players are so different. There’s no way to make the penalties even.

“The problem is that when a batter charges the mound, you know, but when a pitcher hits a batter, you can’t read a guy’s mind.”