Anthony DeSclafani offered a explanation for the extracurricular activity that took place during Monday’s game.
DeSclafani got the start for the San Francisco Giants to open their series against the Chicago White Sox. In the second inning, DeSclafani got White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn to ground out.
After DeSclafani flipped the ball over to first, he and Vaughn exchanged words with one another as Vaughn jogged back to the dugout. DeSclafani even had to be held back by teammate LaMonte Wade Jr.
After the game, DeSclafani said that Vaughn was mad that he had thrown a slider on a 3-0 count (traditionally a fastball count) and started chirping.
“It is what it is,” said DeSclafani, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. “We’re all competing, there’s no ill feelings.”
While there are plenty of unwritten rules in baseball, Vaughn’s perspective is pretty ridiculous. DeSclafani was pitching with a 2-0 lead in the second inning as the White Sox had a runner in scoring position with just one out.
His job is to throw whatever pitch is most likely to retire the batter. If anything, Vaughn should be mad at himself that he swung on 3-0, got fooled, and produced a weak groundball out.
The Giants went on to win 12-3 as DeSclafani pitched six shutout innings to earn the victory. But in baseball’s grand scheme of things, no supposed violation of the game’s unwritten rules is too far-fetched.
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