Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna found himself in the doghouse on Sunday after hitting a ball 415 feet and not even getting extra bases out of it.
Ozuna launched a fly ball to dead center field during the fourth inning of Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but the ball hit high off the wall and stayed in play. Ozuna, however, had stood at the plate to admire what he thought was a sure home run and wound up having to stop at first with a very long single.
Ozuna was pulled from the game, and Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed that it was the result of the lack of hustle.
On one hand, Ozuna’s fly ball would have been a home run in 26 ballparks. Unfortunately for him, Chase Field is not one of them, and there is no way he is not going to look foolish under these circumstances. Snitker did not really have much of a choice here.
The Braves have had this problem in the past with Ronald Acuna Jr., but those issues seem to be behind him. It’s a bit less excusable for a veteran like Ozuna, who is in his 11th MLB season, but the team will hope this just serves as a little-needed reminder about hustle.
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