"Talkin Baseball" with Matt Ambrose: You Just Got Plunk'd

By: Matt Ambrose

There was lots of great baseball this past week. The Rangers raddled off 10 straight wins, the Rockies took two out of three from the Twins in their series, and Aaron Judge continued his hot start. But what overshadowed this all – an issue that has become quite prevalent so far this season – is these out-of-the-blue beanball wars that have been occurring.

We saw it most notably on Wednesday night in Atlanta, where a Jose Bautista bat flip prompted retaliation the following night by Braves pitcher Julio Teheran. On Wednesday with the Blue Jays trailing 8-3, Bautista launched a home run to left field, flipping his bat in the process a la ALDS Game 5 against the Rangers in 2015. The bat flip resulted in words being exchanged between Bautista and Braves first baseman Jace Peterson while Bautista rounded the bases, as well as Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki upon Bautista arriving at home plate.

Bautista was hit by Teheran in his first at-bat the following night in retaliation for his actions, and Bautista promptly discarded of his elbow guard, tossed his bat to the on-deck area, and trotted on down to first base.

Pitchers retaliating against hitters for certain things is simply part of the game. It has been for decades now, however there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it, and it applies to both sides. This occurrence was handled fairly well by both sides: the Braves were upset about the bat flip, they threw at Bautista the next opportunity they had, they threw at his back instead of his head and neck area, and Bautista took it and trotted right down to first base. And that was the end of that. There was a situation that had to be resolved, and that was achieved without it escalating into anything major.

The Texas Rangers can't say the same about their handling of Bautista last season in retaliation to his bat flip in the previous season's ALDS. The Rangers and Blue Jays met up for a three-game series in mid-May last season, their first meeting since their epic five game showdown in the 2015 postseason. The Rangers waited until Bautista's final at-bat of the final game of the series to plunk him with a pitch, a move that Bautista was obviously disgruntled with. Of course, we all remember what happened after that.  

Though it provided us with one of the most iconic images of the 2016 MLB season, the Rangers handled this situation horribly. The Braves, on the other hand, did it as best as you could.

Retaliation happens. When there's so much bad blood between two teams, sometimes retaliation is a must in order to let out all of that pent up aggression.

However, bad blood and pent up aggression can only arise from certain situations, like a bat flip or, in another case we have seen this season, a controversial slide. This is what we saw from Manny Machado, as his questionable slide into second base, in which his spikes caught the back of the leg of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, sparked major unrest amongst Red Sox players.

What this turned into was a childish beanball fest, started by Red Sox pitcher Matt Barnes, who threw at behind the head of Machado in, of course, his final at-bat of their weekend series. The two teams linked up again a week later at Fenway Park, where Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale hurled a 98 MPH fastball behind Machado.

Why retaliate twice? This entire situation was poorly handled by the Red Sox, both in terms of timing and effectiveness. There is no reason to throw at the same guy twice for the same incident, and there is also never a reason to intentionally throw at a guy's head. For the Red Sox, it was an overreaction to a questionable slide and ended up being a very poorly handled situation.

The Red Sox gave an example of a poorly handled and drawn out situation, however another beanball war this week brought out another aspect of retaliation. The Miami Marlins were out in Los Angeles this past weekend for a three game series with the Dodgers, and things got heated in the late innings.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Marlins pitcher A.J. Ramos served up a two-run home run to Cody Bellinger to put the Dodgers up 7-0. On the very next pitch, Ramos hit Brett Eibner in the ribs with a 95 MPH fastball. The Dodgers decided to retaliate in the top of the ninth, and on the very first pitch of that inning, Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling sent a pitch behind the back of Marlins star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. The benches would empty, with one of the most involved individuals being Marlins manager Don Mattingly.

If you're Don Mattingly in this situation, you have absolutely zero right to be as upset as he was on Friday night. His pitcher was the one who threw at a Dodger batter unprovoked, causing this whole situation to arise from nothing. This is another example of a poorly handled war of retaliation, one that came about from absolutely nothing. Just a pitcher in A.J. Ramos who was upset with himself for giving up a home run in a game that was already out of reach, and instead of trying to get the final out of the inning, he decides to send his hardest fastball into the ribs of the next batter.  

Stanton also was upset after the pitch went behind him, yelling out at Stripling as he walked towards the mound as the benches cleared. In all reality, the guy he should really be upset with is A.J. Ramos. He put the target on Stanton's back unnecessarily, and brought about tensions that weren't present beforehand.

Pitchers retaliating is and will always be a part of baseball. Things happen where retaliation is warranted, however many teams go about it the wrong way. Whether it be waiting until the final at-bat of the series like the Rangers and Red Sox both did, or beating a dead horse and throwing at the same guy twice like the Red Sox also did.

I see the logic; pitchers want to protect their teammates. It makes sense. However, when things like this aren't done correctly, it can actually put their teammates in jeopardy. The Braves went about it the right way by plunking Bautista and moving on. Bautista did the same, as he took the HBP and trotted on down to first base.

There's a right way and a wrong way. Don't drag it out and jeopardize the health of your teammates. If you're going to do it, do it the first chance you get.

Hit the guy, move on, and get back to playing baseball.

Matt Ambrose is a journalism major from Exeter, N.H. and an Assistant Sports Director at 89.5 FM WSOU. He can be found on Twitter @mambrose97 and can be reached by e-mail at matthew.ambrose1@student.shu.edu.

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