Jonathan Papelbon is Plunking Guys and His Teammates Hate it
In last night’s Orioles/Nationals game, Manny Machado hit a go-ahead two-run home run off of Max Scherzer in the seventh inning and watched it more than Jonathan Papelbon liked. Before we get to the rest of this story, let’s set the scene: Going into the 9th inning, the Nationals were down 4-3. They’re playing must-win baseball trying to keep up with the Mets. They need every W they can get. So, of course, when Jonathan Papelbon faced off against Manny Machado, he plunked him. I’ll let the Washington Post take it from here:
The Nationals wanted Papelbon to pitch the top of the ninth, hoping they could at least tie the game in the bottom of the frame and he could close out the game in the 10th. But after Papelbon got two outs, his first pitch to Machado was high and inside for ball one. His second was a curveball called for a strike on the outer edge of the plate. Papelbon’s third pitch was another fastball up and in that hit Machado on the left shoulder.
Machado threw his bat in anger. Home plate umpire Mark Ripperger ejected Papelbon. No warnings were issued because umpires can immediately toss a player if they infer intent. The benches emptied briefly. Wilson Ramos held Papelbon back. Afterward, everyone said conflicting, even strange, things.
The umpire, of course, thought it was intentional. It wasn’t the first time Paps went high and inside, Machado watched a homer earlier, and Papelbon isn’t exactly known for his decision-making skills. Paps said the ump let the crowd dictate the call. Machado thought it was definitely intentional. “It’s just [expletive],” he said to the Post (I’m guessing “bullshit”). “Pitchers out there, the ball can slip out of your hand, but when you throw at the head on first pitch right from the get-go. Then you throw a curveball and then you throw again at the head. That’s just [expletive]. It’s coward stuff. It’s just cowardly.” Orioles manager Buck Showalter had a different analogy:
“It kind of reminded me of the wrestlers that pulled somebody’s hair and throw their hands up. Who’s that the Hulk guy or something? Like really? But, whatever.”
If I thought Buck Showalter knew what the hell he was talking about, I could make the argument he was calling Papelbon racist. But the person in all of this who is the most bummed? Glory-boy Bryce Harper, who has a history of getting hit because it’s in baseball’s “unwritten rules,” and he doesn’t want any part of it. “I mean, Manny freaking hit a homer and walked it off and somebody drilled him,” Harper said. “It’s pretty tired. It’s one of those situations where it happens. I don’t know. I’ll probably get drilled tomorrow. We’ll see what happens.”
He seems pretty bummed, as is evidenced by footage of Harper leaving the ballpark last night: