Venezuelan league suspends Alex Romero 20 games after wild bat attack, brawl

The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League suspended former Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alex Romero for 20 games for his role in a wild bat attack in a massive brawl in the winter league game between Aguilas del Zulia and Caribes de Anzoategui earlier this month, according to the Associated Press.

Romero’s Aguilas del Zulia had fallen down 13-1 in the eighth inning on Jan. 8 when he stepped up to the plate. Caribes pitcher Angel Nesbitt threw the pitch behind Romero, who then immediately turned around and started swinging his bat at catcher Gabriel Lino — sparking a massive bench-clearing brawl.

In total, five players were ejected in the incident.

Nesbitt was suspended for the rest of the postseason, too, for throwing the errant pitch. He has already filed an appeal, and will be allowed to play until that appeal is decided, per the report.

The incident was one of several in the game, which saw 10 total players ejected from the contest. The benches cleared in the seventh inning, too, after Caribes’ Cesar Valera was hit by the first pitch immediately following back-to-back home runs.

Caribes eventually won the game 13-2.

Romero played 144 games for the Diamondbacks in 2008 and 2009. Nesbitt played briefly for the Detroit Tigers in 2015, though he spent nearly a decade in their minor league system.

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