Washington Nationals starting pitchers have sat in the stands during their off days without fans at games.
To the dismay of the home plate umpire, however, some of those Nationals starters have been getting chatty and a bit too involved expressing their opinions about called balls and strikes. And now our dear Nats have earned a funny and ignominious distinction: they are the first team in the MLB empty-stadium era to have multiple players ejected from the stands in the same week.
2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg was ejected during the Nats’ game against the Mets on Thursday while Anibal Sanchez got tossed Sunday against the Orioles.
8/13 – Stephen Strasburg ejected
Strasburg, normally quiet and to himself, chirped home plate umpire Carlos Torres after a borderline 2-2 pitch was called a ball during a Pete Alonso at-bat. Nationals manager Davey Martinez took umbrage. Then Torres ejected someone. At first, it appeared he was tossed the Nats’ skipper, but instead it was Strasburg.
Strasburg yelled “f*cking brutal”, which is really funny.
Here's the easy to hear audio of Stephen Strasburg yelling "f****ng brutal" from the stands and getting ejected. I love him even more now pic.twitter.com/T1CPXfxHQj
— ᑎIᑕK ᗩᔕᕼOOᕼ 🤧 (@NickAshooh) August 13, 2020
Then a sassy Strasburg tipped his hat and walked out of the stands of Citi Field once he was informed of his ejection.
"GOOD DAY, SIR!" pic.twitter.com/jpxHNUkWnT
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) August 13, 2020
The Pete Alonso at-bat was inconsistent as Torres called one borderline pitch a strike and another a ball.
Lots of grumbling from both sides during that Pete Alonso at-bat. It's inconsistency that tends to irk players. Both pitches near the bottom of the zone were borderline; umpire Carlos Torres called one a ball and one a strike. pic.twitter.com/qtUWMIHK9o
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 13, 2020
Here’s the full breakdown of what happened which is very much worth your time.
Stephen Strasburg gets ejected while sitting in the stands, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/n8GPSmtUFK
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) August 13, 2020
8/16 – Anibal Sanchez tossed
Meanwhile, Sanchez was forced to leave the stands three days later on Sunday after a borderline pitch was called a strike to Nationals’ superstar Juan Soto.
Yes, we can hear you loud and clear. 😀 pic.twitter.com/zmvrZ8v1Wm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 16, 2020
Here are the pitches. Kevin Long, the Nationals’ hitting coach, was ejected as the next inning began. Sanchez left the stands.
After Will Little called pitch 5 to Soto a strike, Davey Martinez burst out of the dugout and yelled: "Pay attention to the game!" Little then called pitch 6 a strike to end the inning. And now as the next inning begins, Kevin Long is ejected barking a very audible phrase at him. pic.twitter.com/0zFrKQapoz
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 16, 2020
After the game, Davey said that Sanchez wasn’t technically ejected – umpire Angel Hernandez told him to leave the stands. To me, that seems to be the same thing but smarter baseball people than me say there is a distinction between the two.
Davey Martinez clarifies that Anibal Sanchez was not ejected from the game. Angel Hernandez merely instructed him to leave the stands. And apparently there is a distinction between the two.
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 16, 2020
In conclusion, please, Nationals starters, keep sitting in the stands and letting people know what you think. It’s funny and I’m sure all this chirping is making your BFFs at the Capitals proud.
Max Scherzer is just chilling in the stands behind the plate by himself. pic.twitter.com/0eSUXNiMne
— Andrew Gillis (@Andrew_Gillis70) July 21, 2020
— Todd Dybas (@Todd_Dybas) July 21, 2020
Screenshots courtesy of MASN
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