Miguel Olivo reportedly bit a part of teammate Alex Guerrero’s ear off in a fight during an Albuquerque Isotopes game on Monday night.
Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported the shocking news:
Morosi also reported that the local police are now investigating the incident:
Olivo and Guerrero—teammates with the Triple-A affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers—exchanged blows in the dugout during the eighth inning against the Salt Lake Bees. The fight was so bad that the game itself had to be stopped briefly, per Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune:
According to Boras, Olivo took exception when Guerrero didn’t attempt to tag a runner, per Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times:
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports added more details after speaking with Boras:
According to Boras, Olivo first punched Guerrero, then apparently after having his arms restrained by others in the Iosotopes’ dugout, took a bite out of the ear of Guerrero. One other person who spoke to Isotopes personnel said a part of the ear actually fell to the dugout floor, and had to be reattached surgically.
(…)
“It’s assault and battery,” Boras said. “There’s nothing he could have said to prompt this.”
Former MLB pitcher Brian Bannister indicated that Olivo exuded an intimidating aura on the field and wasn’t one who took well to disagreements:
Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti declined to go into specifics and confirmed only that Olivo and Guerrero had gotten into an altercation:
Only now is the severity of the fracas coming into full effect.
This only adds to what has been an already up-and-down season for the Dodgers, who are third in the National League West heading into Tuesday night. It doesn’t look good on the organization to have two players with the Triple-A affiliate creating this kind of mess.
In addition to the seriousness of Guerrero’s injury, the way the fight escalated is also notable, as it recalls the bizarre incident of Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 bout.
FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan joked that this goes against Olivo’s reputation for being a bit of a free swinger at the plate:
Given the fact that the police have been brought in, this incident could drag on for a while. Not only might Olivo face some sort of punishment from the Dodgers, but he could also be dealing with legal ramifications.
For Guerrero, this is a major speed bump in his brief MLB career. Los Angeles signed the Cuban infielder for $28 million back in October 2013, so the team’s long-term plans for the 27-year-old will have to be put on hold for the time being.
This was no doubt an ugly event and a black eye for the Dodgers as a whole.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com