NEW YORK (AP) – Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper has agreed to drop his appeal of a four-game suspension and will have one game shaved from the punishment.
Harper reached the agreement Wednesday with Major League Baseball and was to begin serving the suspension immediately.
The punishment stemmed from a bench-clearing brawl on Monday after Harper was hit by a 98 mph fastball from Giants reliever Hunter Strickland. There’s no word on Strickland, who received a six-game suspension and also had planned to appeal.
The bad blood between the two stemmed from a pair of home runs Harper hit off Strickland in the 2014 playoffs.
MLB Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre’s explanation of the disciplinary decisions said Strickland intentionally hit “Harper with a pitch, inciting the bench-clearing incident and fighting,” while Harper’s suspension came “for charging the mound, throwing his helmet and fighting.”
Each player also was fined an undisclosed amount.
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