The MLB put an end to the fun-having pretty damn quick on Saturday night in Philadelphia. A just-for-kicks staredown following the national anthem between Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm and Red Sox pitcher Kutter Crawford resulted in a pair of ejections and some fines.
Following the national anthem, both Crawford and Strahm remained on the field for a “friendly” staredown. Basically, it’s like a game of “chicken,” the first guy to go back to the dugout loses.
But the two stood on the field so long that both got tossed from the game and now they’ll face fines from the MLB. Umpires from Saturday’s game issued warnings to both pitchers, but when they remained on the field, they were ejected.
When it comes to pace of play, MLB isn’t messing around. Even if guys are having fun during pre-game.
Following Saturday’s game, Strahm explained what went down with him and Crawford before the game. He admitted it probably wasn’t smart on his part.
“Zero of it was planned. Just, (the) anthem was over and I looked across and Kutter kind of gave me a grin and I know exactly what that grin meant so just stood there,” Strahm said, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
“If you know me, you know competition is everything to me so kind of felt like I was being called out right there. Looking back on it, probably not the wisest decision I’ve made in my big league career. … I guess I should’ve known better with how strict they are with pitch clock.”
The Red Sox defeated the Phillies 7-4 on Saturday night.
MLB pitchers ejected: Kutter Crawford faces larger fine than Matt Strahm
Unfortunately, Crawford’s actions are going to lead to a pretty sizable fine. Because he’s on the 15-day injured list, he’s going to get slapped pretty hard by MLB.
But it sounds like one of his teammates — fellow pitcher Chris Sale — will be willing to lend a hand.
“If you get thrown out and you’re on the IL, you get crushed,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, per Yahoo Sports. “I know there’s a guy that went to the same school as him that’s probably going to take care of that.”
Both Sale and Crawford attended Florida Gulf Coast.
We understand that MLB wants to speed up the game to make a more fan-friendly product. But ejecting and fining both players for having a little fun in the pre-game? That seems a touch over the top.
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