Punishment Announced for ABL Dust-Up, Umpire Fined

The Australian Baseball League announced a series of fines for misconduct during February's ABL Championship Series between the Canberra Cavalry and Brisbane Bandits, disciplining two Brisbane coaches, umpire Takahito Matsuda, and both teams collectively.

In the 6th inning of the decisive game, benches cleared twice after a hit batsman and caught stealing play, respectively, drawing two ejections, including that of Brisbane first base coach Adrian Lamb for fighting; replays indicate Lamb pushed an opposing player at the start of the second bench-clearing incident.
Related Post: ABL Ejections - Takahito Matsuda & Bench Clearing (2/14/18).

According to the Disciplinary Review Panel's findings, Lamb and Matsuda each made unreasonable or unnecessary contact with a player/person (first offense), for which each was fined $150 AUS (approximately 117 US dollars). If Lamb and Matsuda plead guilty to the findings, the penalty will be reduced to $100 AUS ($78 US).

Brisbane Manager David Nilsson received a $100 AUS ($78 US) fine for throwing equipment (first offense), which may be reduced to $50 AUS ($39 US) upon an early guilty plea, while both teams were collectively fined $1,350 AUS ($1,052 US) because 27 players and coaches left their positions to partake in an on-field confrontation (27 x $50). No individual player received a financial penalty.

Matsuda's $100 early guilty plea fine exceeds the ABL umpire's game fee, according to a league source. The $150 "full" penalty amount constitutes 200% of the ABL's standard per-game officiating rate.

According to ABL disciplinary procedure, all parties have the option of contesting the panel's decision with the ABL Tribunal, whose decision may be appealed for a fee of $500 ($250 of which is non-refundable). If the appeal is successful, $250 is returned, but if it fails, the defeated party forfeits the entire $500.