Clemens appeals fine from Series

NEW YORK (AP) -- Roger Clemens decided Tuesday to appeal a $50,000 fine for throwing the jagged barrel of Mike Piazza's bat toward the Mets' catcher during Game 2 of the World Series.

Tuesday was the deadline for the New York Yankees' pitcher to let the players' association know whether it should file an appeal with the commissioner's office.

Appeals of fines and suspensions this year have been heard by Paul Beeston, baseball's chief operating officer.

As president of the Toronto Blue Jays, Beeston signed Clemens to a $24.75 million, three-year contract after the 1996 season.

Clemens, who beaned Piazza with a pitch last July, said he did not deliberately throw the bat in front of Piazza during Game 2 on Oct. 22, but said he was pumped up with emotion and initially thought the wooden fragment was the ball.

He was not ejected by umpires, but Frank Robinson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, decided punishment was necessary.

"It was a reckless type of action on his part," Robinson said.

Under baseball's labor contract, a fine of $500 or greater can be appealed.

The fine matched the largest ever levied against a player, equaling the amount Albert Belle was penalized for his profane tirade toward a TV reporter during the 1995 World Series.

Clemens, a five-time Cy Young Award winner, would have faced Piazza again if the World Series had been extended to six games, but the Yankees beat the Mets 4-1 to win their third consecutive World Series title.