Angels' Anthony Rendon suspended 5 games for altercation with fan

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon was suspended five games on Monday for a public altercation with a fan in Oakland last week, videos of which circulated on social media.

The decision was announced Monday by Michael Hill, Major League Baseball's senior vice president of on-field operations. If Rendon does not appeal, he will begin serving his suspension during the team's road game against the division rival Seattle Mariners on Monday evening.

Rendon, who was also fined an undisclosed amount, grabbed the fan by the shirt as he was making his way out of the first-base dugout and into the tunnel that leads to the visitors' clubhouse at RingCentral Coliseum on Thursday night in the aftermath of the Angels' 2-1 Opening Day loss to the Oakland Athletics. Rendon accused the fan of calling him a «b----,» then took a swipe that missed his head before walking away.

MLB has dealt with a handful of fan-related incidents involving players over the past several years, including a couple last season, when Tim Anderson was given a one-game suspension for flipping off a fan in April and Amir Garrett was docked three games for throwing a drink at a fan in August.

In August 2010, Nyjer Morgan received a seven-game suspension for throwing a ball into the stands. Six years earlier, in September 2004, Milton Bradley was suspended for the final five regular-season games for approaching a fan who had thrown a plastic bottle in his direction, and Frank Francisco received a 16-game suspension for throwing a chair that hit a fan.

Rendon, 32, is nearing the midway point of a seven-year, $245 million contract that has thus far been a massive disappointment. A litany of injuries — to his left groin, left knee, left hamstring, right hip