Curtis Fined $1,000, Suspended for Role in Brawl

Angel center fielder Chad Curtis was watching highlights of Sunday’s brawl between the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners, and knew immediately that he had no chance for leniency.

His instincts proved correct Monday when Bobby Brown, American League president, suspended him for three games starting today and fined him $1,000 for his role in the Angel-Toronto Blue Jay brawl last Wednesday at Anaheim Stadium. Blue Jay third baseman Ed Sprague, who was involved in the original altercation with Curtis, was given the same penalty.

“I looked at what happened last night at Baltimore and (the penalty) didn’t surprise me a bit,” Curtis said. “I thought I’d only be fined until I saw that brawl, so when you think about it, it was probably the right thing to do.

“Our brawl was nothing compared to that one. Ours was like a wrestling match, while those guys were going crazy like they were trying to hurt people. But when you think about it, they had to suspend us to make sure this doesn’t keep happening.”

The league also fined Angel outfielder Stan Javier and second baseman Damion Easley $350 apiece, Blue Jay infielder Darnell Coles $500, and Blue Jay pitcher Mark Eichhorn $350. The four players all were ejected for fighting, but Coles was fined the most because he was seen throwing punches at fans in the stands.

Angel Manager Buck Rodgers recommended to Curtis that he accept the penalty rather than file an appeal.