Following the viral melee between Guardians’ José Ramírez and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, Cleveland’s star infielder told MLB insider Héctor Gómez that he’s attempted to apologize for his actions.
Per Gómez, Ramírez stated that despite his attempts to reach out to Anderson and clear the air, the 30-year-old has not responded to his messages.
“I tried to apologize to Tim Anderson, but he has not answered me,” said Ramírez on Monday. “He’s a good player. What happened is something that does not go with my way of being. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m not a troubled man. I like to play hard and try to help my team.”
The brawl took place during the sixth inning on Saturday night after Ramírez successfully legged out a double. The Guardians All-Star took issue with the amount of force Anderson used while applying the tag, and voiced his displeasure in the moment.
The two then proceeded to square up and throw punches at one another, with Ramírez managing to clip Anderson in the face with a right hook which sent the shortstop crashing to the ground.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Ramírez indicated Anderson challenged him to fight and he felt he had to defend himself.
Anderson was not made available to the media after Saturday’s game and has not addressed the incident outside of a string of cryptic tweets he posted Sunday.