Umpire Mike Winters was suspended for the rest of the season Wednesday by Major League Baseball over his role in a bizarre incident involving the San Diego Padres' Milton Bradley over the weekend.

In the eighth inning of Sunday's 7-3 home loss to the Colorado Rockies, Bradley got into an argument with Winters, the first-base umpire. As the dispute escalated, Bradley was hauled to the ground by Padres manager Bud Black, who was trying to restrain him, and tore a knee ligament in the process.

Umpire Mike Winters was suspended because the commissioner's office concluded he had used a profanity aimed at the Padres' Milton Bradley, a source said.
(Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press)

Adding insult to injury, Bradley later complained that he was baited by Winters, who told plate umpire Brian Runge that he felt the volatile outfielder flipped his bat in Runge's direction after striking out in his previous at-bat. The allegation prompted an investigation by Mike Port, baseball's vice-president of umpiring.

Winters was suspended because the commissioner's office concluded he had used a profanity aimed at Bradley, a baseball official told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the reasoning for the suspension was not announced.

When Bradley reached first base on a single during the eighth inning Sunday, he asked Winters if he told Runge he threw his bat, and Winters said, "Yeah, you did."

Bradley told reporters that he replied: "Are you kidding me? That is completely ridiculous.

"If I strike out and the inning is over, why are you looking at me? Everything is always about me."

When Winters began spewing expletives at him, Bradley said, "That is when I went at him and he kicked me out. It is terrible.

"And now, because of him, my knee is hurt. He needs to be reprimanded."

The incident also provoked outrage from other members of the Padres.

"In 26 years of baseball, I can honestly say that's the most disconcerting conversation I have ever heard from an umpire to a player," first base coach Bobby Meacham said. "It was almost like he wanted to agitate the whole thing.

"He wanted to get Milton boiling for some reason. Milton, he held his cool."

Bradley was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is expected to undergo surgery and be sidelined at least six months. The injury is a significant blow to the Padres, who began Wednesday with a one-game lead over Colorado and Philadelphia in the National League wild-card race.

Bradley split 61 games between the Oakland Athletics and Padres this season, hitting .306 with 13 home runs, 37 runs batted in and 37 runs scored.

The 29-year-old outfielder is a career .273 hitter with 81 HRs, 322 RBIs and 362 runs in 691 games over eight MLB seasons for the Montreal Expos, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Athletics and Padres.

Winters, 48, became a major league umpire in 1990 and worked the World Series in 2002 and last year.

With files from the Associated Press