ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was suspended for two games and fined by the commissioner's office Wednesday after he was ejected earlier this week.
The All-Star left fielder planned to appeal the penalty, making him eligible to play until a hearing is held.
"I knew I probably was going to be suspended," said Crawford, who was in the starting lineup for Wednesday night's game against Baltimore. "We just didn't know how many games. I ain't really surprised about the suspension. What I did was wrong. You never get into it with an umpire like that. Something bad is going to happen, probably a suspension. I just hate it had to come to that."
Crawford was ejected when he argued a call at first base Monday night during a game against the Orioles.
He was called out by umpire Paul Nauert after hitting a bases-loaded grounder to shortstop in the third inning. Crawford immediately spun around after crossing first base, ran toward Nauert and then used both hands to throw his helmet to the ground.
At that point, Nauert ejected Crawford. The speedy outfielder then jumped on the back of Tampa Bay first-base coach George Hendrick, who had gotten between the pair.
Television replays appeared to show that Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar was off the bag when he caught the throw from shortstop Miguel Tejada.
"I think it's a little bit excessive based on if you take the entire play into consideration to what motivated the reaction," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said.
The amount of the fine was not disclosed, but Crawford said it's "a thousand bucks too much for me."
Crawford hopes his appeal will be heard this month and won't carry over to next season.
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