TOLEDO -- Former Tigers infielder Brandon Inge has played nearly every position during his 15-year professional career. This was the first time he's had to play peacemaker.

Inge found himself at the center of a heated exchange Tuesday when an unidentified fan at Fifth Third Field heckled and threw peanuts at the 35-year-old during a game against the Toledo Mud Hens.

Inge, who spent much of his Major League career with the Tigers, was on a rehab assignment with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A affiliate in Toledo when the kerfuffle broke out.

"It was just an agitated fan that took it a little too far," Inge said Wednesday.

, a handful of teammates came to Inge's defense after the fan stood next to railing on the far side of Indianapolis' dugout and continued his verbal assault.

A fight nearly broke out between the fan and several players before security personnel arrived. Pirates prospect Jerry Sands and Felix Pie were among those involved and both reportedly needed to be restrained by teammates.

"That stuff is unfortunate. You can't avoid it," Inge said. "There's always going to be a couple idiots at every game. There's nothing you can do about it. You can handle it the best you can, and I think we did."

Sands reportedly managed to clear the fencing between the Indians dugout and the stands. He was suspended Wednesday for one game by the International League.

"We do not condone Jerry's actions," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement, "and support the league's decision to suspend him for one game."

No Mud Hens were involved in the scuffle.

"I heard it, but we didn't know what happened," outfielder Quintin Berry said.

According to an eyewitness account, the fan allegedly attempted to throw beer at several players while he was being escorted out of the ballpark. He was not arrested.

"Everything was handled very professionally," Inge said. "The Mud Hens handled it professionally and I think we handled it as professionally as we could."

In an effort to divert attention away from the scuffle, Inge handed out baseballs to more than a half-dozen children in attendance.

"I know the face," he said. "I know the face of a kid that's scared. And that man was definitely scaring those kids around that area."

A father of two boys, Inge said his parental instincts quickly kicked in when he saw children seated nearby.

"I actually saw a couple kids sitting by themselves, I'm sure their parents were nearby, and I saw them actually get up and move a couple seats back. They were just like, 'Wow, we need to move,'" he said. "I didn't want them to feel like that. So I pulled them over and gave them some balls. It turned to be, I think, OK."

Inge was a lightning rod for criticism during much of his 10-year career with the Tigers before being released last spring. He finished last season with the Oakland A's and signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates this offseason.

"To be honest, there's so many times a player won't acknowledge some of the stuff that is going on where a normal person is going to want to fight," he said. "Put it this way, I'd say 80 percent -- when you go on the road -- of the people that are sitting close to you are not there to applaud you."

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