Major League Baseball has suspended and fined Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels for five games for intentionally throwing at Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper during Sunday's game (via MLB). Harper took his base without incident and Hamels was plunked in the top of the third inning by Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann.
Unlike Zimermann, Hamels has admitted to intentionally throwing at Harper. Hamels said after the game:
"I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it. It's something I grew up watching. That's what happened. I'm just trying to continue the old baseball. Some people get away from it. I remember when I was a rookie, the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything. That's the way baseball is. Sometimes the league is protecting certain players. It's that old-school prestigious way of baseball." (via Matt Gelb)
Ruben Amaro, the Phillies general manager, says that Hamels will start the suspension immediately and will not appeal (via Howard Eskin's Twitter).
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