An incident in which Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Dennis Santana took a swing at a fan in Detroit on Thursday has led to him being slapped with a four-game suspension by Major League Baseball.
MLB said the suspension and an undisclosed fine were due to “his aggressive conduct towards a fan,” according to Bleacher Report. Santana is appealing the decision.
The incident took place in the second game of a doubleheader at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
Video showed Santana taking a leaping swing as fans stood looking down into the Pirates bullpen.
MLB has also suspended Pirates RP Dennis Santana “for his aggressive conduct toward a fan near the bullpen” on Thursday. Santana is appealing the suspension. pic.twitter.com/yKiMrmpl77
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) June 20, 2025
Santana later entered the game and got one out in the ninth before a rain delay kicked in. The Pirates eventually won the game against the Detroit Tigers.
Santana, whose comments came through an interpreter, spoke about the incident after the game.
“You guys know me — I’m a calm demeanor type of person,” Santana said. “I’ve never had any issues for any of the teams I’ve played for. This guy crossed the line a few times.”
Is this suspension fair?
Santana did not say what the fan said to him.
Dennis Santana is swinging at fans from the bullpen pic.twitter.com/cah20Ohtis
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 20, 2025
“He crossed the line, and I’d like to leave it at that. I’ve never had anything like this happen in my eight years in baseball,” Santana added.
Santana said manager Don Kelly “knows I regret what I did. You know I’m a professional.”
Kelly appeared to side with his player.
“Everybody in here knows Dennis Santana and how cool, calm, collected he is and what type of guy he is,” Kelly said, according to MLB.com.
“I think that, as a player, looking back at my career, when you go on the road, you expect ribbing. You expect certain things to happen from a fan’s standpoint, but there’s a certain line that you can go up to. And from my understanding, the line was crossed yesterday,” he said Friday.
“They crossed the line too many times,” Santana said. “It doesn’t justify my actions, but it was too much.”
Santana is in his second year with the Pirates.
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