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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Steven Wright delivers to the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston last year. Wright has accepted a 15-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy following his arrest on Dec. 8. Wright publicly apologized to his wife, Shannon, after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the penalty today.
NEW YORK >> Boston Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright has accepted a 15-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy following his arrest on Dec. 8.
Wright publicly apologized to his wife, Shannon, after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the penalty today.
“I deeply regret my actions that night,” he said in statement issued through the Major League Baseball Players Association. “I fully cooperated with MLB’s investigators and re-iterated to them that I did not make physical contact with my wife. The legal case that was retired supports that claim. But I accept full responsibility for what happened and have taken steps, including counseling sessions, to help me become a better husband.”
The 33-year-old knuckeballer — who played three seasons of college baseball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the mid-2000s — was an All-Star in 2016 but was limited to five starts last year by a left knee injury that required surgery May 8.
He has not pitched in a major league spring training game this year, and it is not clear whether he will start the season on the disabled list.
The suspension will start when he is put on the active roster and will cost him about $100,000 of his $1.1 million salary. The exact figure depends on the number of off-days during the ban.
“While it is clear that Mr. Wright regrets what transpired that evening, takes full responsibility for his actions and has committed himself to the treatment and counseling components of the policy, I have concluded that Mr. Wright’s conduct on Dec. 8 violated the policy and warrants discipline,” Manfred said in a statement. “Mr. Wright has agreed to speak to other players about what he has learned through this process, and to donate time and money to local organizations aimed at the prevention of, and the treatment of victims of, domestic violence.”
Wright also apologized to Red Sox management, fans, teammates and his family. The right-hander has a 21-14 record in five big league seasons, including 13-6 two years ago.
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