Baseball's campaign to make peace with its fans hit another rough spot Sunday when Chili Davis of the California Angels poked a spectator in the face.
The incident, coming two weeks after Jack McDowell gestured obscenely to Yankee Stadium fans, happened during the fourth inning of the Angels' 8-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.Davis was charged with disorderly conduct but was not taken into police custody. The player was given a citation that carries a $287 fine.
"I guess if you go by the letter of the law, it's an arrest," said Sgt. David Iushewitz of the sheriff's office. "The citation was in lieu of an arrest."
Davis was being taunted as he stood in the on-deck circle in the third inning. Witnesses said the designated hitter walked over to the first row of box seats on the third-base side and said to a 26-year-old fan identified as Andy Johannsen: "You got a problem with me, say it to my face," Iushewitz said.
Davis then poked Johannsen in the left side of his face with his left index finger and "sort of slapped the guy's face as he was poking," Iushewitz said.
The fan who was struck was not heckling Davis, witnesses told the sheriff. The actual hecklers were nearby.
Johannsen said he also was yelling at Davis, but wasn't saying anything derogatory or deserving of Davis' reaction.
"I may have shouted, `You stink. You're an easy out. You're going to strike out,' but nothing demeaning or derogatory, nothing personal," Johannsen told WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee.
Davis, who could face suspension for his conduct, declined to comment after the game.
"I've got nothing to say, so get out of my face," he said.
Johannsen was escorted from his seat by a sheriff's department official as the crowd booed. He was not ejected from the stadium.
Davis was booed again when he went to the plate and tipped his helmet to the taunting crowd. He singled, and when the inning was over, he motioned for fans to bring on more boos as he went back into the dugout.
"It was just people yapping and stuff," California manager Marcel Lachemann said. "We got over there in time. I wasn't worried about it getting much past that."