New reports of fight differ from Scheppers' story
Texas reliever Tanner Scheppers, who said he was randomly attacked and suffered facial cuts and bruises in an incident in Cleveland, might have been the instigator of the early Friday morning fight.
According to Cleveland Scene magazine, witnesses said Scheppers was with some other Texas players and was "jawing back and forth" before a fight broke out.
Cleveland police released a statement on Sunday saying the incident took place at 2:30 a.m. outside a downtown Cleveland bar.
When police arrived and tried to get information from Scheppers he refused to provide information or make a police report. Scheppers also refused medical attention.
"He lost a bar fight," the witness said told Cleveland Scene. "He had 10 chances to walk away before this happened."
Scheppers said he was "sucker punched by several young males" and knocked to the ground Thursday night after the Rangers arrived in Cleveland for a three-game series with the Indians. It had been reported that he said he had gone to get a bite to eat when the incident took place.
"It's one of those things ... I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Scheppers told MLB.com on Saturday. "It happened so quickly. The police were called. They said unfortunately this happened quite a bit."
The Dallas Morning News said on Sunday the Rangers plan their own investigation.
"Following today's reports, the Texas Rangers are in the process of investigating the incident involving Tanner Scheppers on Thursday night," the Rangers said in a statement. "The club has been in contact with officials from the Cleveland Police Department and the Cleveland Indians. Until our investigation is complete, no one from the organization will have any further comment on this matter."
