Major League Baseball already suspended Hunter Strickland six games for his role in a May 31 brawl featuring Nationals’ star Bryce Harper, and now, the league has suspended the auction of the jersey Strickland wore during the fight.
Yes, that means Strickland’s jersey was up for auction in the first place, and no, you can no longer submit a winning bid.
The sale for Strickland’s jersey was hosted on MLB.com’s auction site, with the top bid reportedly hitting $1,500 before the league elected to give the auction the same fate it gave Strickland.
As for the Giants’ pitcher, he submitted an appeal that Major League Baseball announced it will hear on June 13. As for the jersey, well, it’s highly unlikely it will return to the marketplace.
ESPN’s Darren Rovell reported the league was unaware the jersey was going to be made available via auction, and that after a slew of national reporters pointed out the jersey’s sale, the league requested the item be pulled from the site.
Harper has already served the four-game suspension he received, and it’s unlikely Strickland’s suspension will be reduced significantly even after his appeal hearing.
Strickland hit Harper with a 98-mile per hour fastball in the eighth inning of the May 31 contest between the Giants and Nationals, and Harper charged the mound immediately following the pitch.