EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher
Jason Boyd was sentenced Monday to court supervision and ordered to
seek anger management counseling for hitting a man outside a bar in
November.
Boyd, 30, was initially charged with felony aggravated battery
for the Nov. 16 fight in Atlon, but prosecutors reduced that charge
Monday to misdemeanor battery. A Madison County judge found Boyd
guilty during a subsequent bench trial.
The judge sentenced Boyd to one year of court supervision and
also fined him $200.
Prosecutor Steve Wigginton said both sides agreed Boyd hit the
man with a fist, not a beer bottle, as was first alleged.
Boyd was satisfied with the outcome.
"I just want people to know that what they read in the paper in
November, that wasn't the case and that wasn't me, and I don't know
why I was made out to be a monster," he said.
Prosecutors also dropped another misdemeanor charge against Boyd
stemming from an alleged altercation with a man during a basketball
game in November.
"We just felt it was in the best interest of justice to
(dismiss it) at this time," Wigginton said.
Boyd, who grew up in Edwardsville, was claimed off waivers from
Cleveland in October. The reliever went 3-1 with a 4.30 ERA in 44
games for the Indians in 2003 after starting the season at Triple-A
Buffalo.