José Ramírez: Tim Anderson Hasn't Responded to My Attempts to Apologize for Fight

Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez said he's tried to reach out to Tim Anderson to apologize for his part in a fight that landed him a three-game suspension and Anderson a six-game suspension.

But as Ramírez told Show del Mediodía's Héctor Gómez, Anderson hasn't responded:

"In the light of the recent events, I want to say to the public that I deeply regret what happened between me and Tim Anderson, whom I consider a very good baseball player. I've been trying to reach out to him directly and apologize but haven't received an answer. Everyone who knows me, knows well I'm not somebody who's out there looking for trouble. It's been part of my personality and behavior to give 100 percent everyday at the field to help my team and trying to be an example for the younger players on my team. I want to reiterate apologies for my behavior and as always my goal is to help my team to win and reach the postseason. I want to thank everybody in my organization, my teammates and all my fans for their support during this process."

Anderson was given the lengthier suspension for instigating the fight, though it was Ramírez who finished it as the benches cleared:

Both Anderson and Ramírez are appealing.

And both players indicated there has been some bad blood between them in the past.

"He has been disrespecting the game for a while," Ramírez told reporters. "It's not from yesterday. It's from before. I even had the chance to tell him during the game, 'Don't do this stuff. That's disrespectful. Don't start tagging people like that.' Because in reality, we're here trying to find ways to provide for our families."

"He tagged me really hard, more than needed, and his reaction was like, 'I want to fight,'" Ramírez added. "And if he wants to fight, I wanted to defend myself."

Anderson had his own words about the situation in a since-deleted tweet:

The situation quickly became the talk of baseball, with the call from Cleveland's radio announcer Tom Hamilton—"They're fighting! They're swinging! Down goes Anderson! Down goes Anderson!"—going viral:

"It's not funny, but when I came in (after being ejected), I'm listening to [Hamilton]," Guardians' manager Terry Francona told The Athletic's Zack Meisel. "It's hard not to chuckle."

It sounds as though Ramírez is ready to move on after arguably the most infamous baseball fight since Rougned Odor hit José Bautista. Anderson, however, may not currently be interested in reconciliation.