National Anthem ‘Standoff’ Leads to Ejections and Fines for 2 MLB Pitchers

Two pitchers who indulged in a bit of childish behavior on Saturday have learned that Major League Baseball was not amused. Kutter Crawford of the Boston Red Sox and Matt Strahm of the Philadelphia Phillies were each…

IJR SyndicatedMay 8, 20233 min read

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In an interview, Strahm chalked it up to a bit of competitive childishness.

“Zero of it was planned. Just, 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.

He said that as the anthem ended, each stood with their hats over their hearts, just waiting for the other to move.

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“I’ve never done anything like that in my life,” he said.

“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. But, yeah, moving on.”

“I didn’t even realize I was thrown out, either,” he said. “The first base umpire came over to me and said, ‘You gotta get going,’ and alls I said was, ‘OK, well, it’s our home field, so he should go first, right?’ And he said, ‘OK.’ And when I looked over Kutter was leaving, and I walked down the steps, and then they told me I was thrown out.

“I guess I should’ve known better with how strict they are with the pitch clock,” he joked, referring to baseball’s new rule intended to speed up the game.

He referred to the incident as “not my brightest” moment.

“That was a first for me,” Crawford said, according to the Boston Globe.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.