St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras inadvertently struck hitting coach Brant Brown along with his bat after being ejected from Monday evening’s win in opposition to the Pittsburgh Pirates (field rating). Contreras, who was tossed in the course of the backside of the seventh inning after arguing balls and strikes, appeared to toss his bat towards first-base umpire Stu Scheurwater, who had intervened in an try and diffuse the scenario. As an alternative, it struck Brown on the higher physique.
Contreras would later throw a bucket of treats on the sector after heading into the dugout. Have a look:
It is to be seen if Contreras will face punishment from Main League Baseball. It should not shock anybody if he does, although, given his seeming intent. Crew chief Jordan Baker told Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat that Contreras was ejected for utilizing “vulgar” language and that he made contact with an ump — a no-no within the league’s eyes. Contreras denied that second half, and claimed that he merely requested the identical strike-zone requires each groups.
The pitch that Contreras took challenge with was an 0-2 providing from Pirates right-hander Yohan Ramírez. House-plate umpire Derek Thomas rung up Contreras, and rightly so: stated pitch had a referred to as strike chance of 87.5%, in accordance with TruMedia’s calculations. Maybe Contreras was steamed at himself or at one other name that occurred whereas he was behind the dish. Regardless of the case, not one of the calls that went in opposition to him as a hitter on Monday had been egregious.
Contreras, 33, entered Monday hitting .261/.345/.460 (125 OPS+) with 19 residence runs and 70 runs batted in over the course of 120 video games. His contributions had been estimated to have been value 2.3 Wins Above Substitute, in accordance with the calculations hosted at Baseball Reference.
It is value noting that Contreras is the second participant entangled in a bat-throwing incident up to now two weeks. Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles was suspended for 10 video games after throwing his bat at a pitcher throughout a rehab recreation. Robles, who should serve his banishment on the big-league degree, has been allowed to proceed to play whereas he appeals his punishment.
