Pittsburgh Pirates analyst Steve Blass received attention online Tuesday for his comments after Atlanta Braves youngster Ronald Acuña Jr. was hit by a pitch.
Acuña was hit by a pitch in the top of the fourth inning of the Braves’ 12-5 win over the Pirates. Blass made reference to Acuña’s jewelry and “stuff” after the hit by pitch (Acuña got tangled with his jewelry earlier in the at-bat). Although he did not say the hit by pitch was intentional, he implied that back in his day, a pitcher may have hit a player like that for wearing jewelry.
Blass pitched for the Pirates from 1964-1974. He made one All-Star team and won a World Series. And back in his day, many players had an “old school” mentality and didn’t like showboating celebrating players who didn’t play the game “the right way.” There is still a culture clash in MLB to this day between the old school and new school mentalities.
The idea that you should hit someone intentionally for wearing jewelry rather than just trying to get them out is disgusting and not something anyone should be encouraging.
Oddly, Acuña has been hit intentionally in the past for doing nothing more than being a great player.
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