On May 24, 2000, then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig suspended 16 Los Angeles Dodgers players and three coaches for their roles in a fight with Chicago Cubs fans in the stands during a game at Wrigley Field.
The brawl started when backup catcher Chad Kreuter was purportedly hit in the head while seated in the bullpen down the right-field line. Kreuter’s cap was taken, and chaos ensued when he attempted to retrieve it.
The skirmish occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning, which delayed the game nearly 10 minutes as umpires and stadium personnel worked to gain control. The Dodgers would hang on for a 6-5 victory after all the drama.
Kreuter and Dodgers coaches Glenn Hoffman, Rick Dempsey and John Shelby each drew the harshest punishment: respective eight-game suspensions. Meanwhile, Carlos Perez and Mike Fetters were forced to sit out four games.
Terry Adams, Darren Dreifort, Eric Gagne, Onan Masaoka, Alan Mills, Antonio Osuna and Chan Ho Park received three-game suspensions; and F.P. Santangelo, Gary Sheffield, Geronimo Berroa, Shawn Green, Eric Karros and Todd Hundley also were suspended.
The suspensions were staggered to ensure the Dodgers would not be significantly short-handed. Each of the suspended members of the Dodgers organization were fined as well.
During his postgame comments, then-Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone called for better security and protection of players who used to sit just on the other side of a brick wall.
The Cubs responded by reducing the number of beer vendors at Wrigley Field and cut off sales at the first pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning. The team additionally relocated both bullpens to under the bleachers in left and right field, respectively, for the start of the 2017 regular season.
Were Cubs fans punished for fight with Dodgers?
The three fans involved in the incident with Dodgers players and coaches were arrested that night. The Dodgers eventually settled a lawsuit with one who claimed Kreuter choked him while another player hit him.
In 2003, a Cook County jury awarded $475,000 to the same fan after it determined the Cubs and two employees were guilty on civil charges of malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.
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