Cardinals $87.5M Star Smacks Own Coach With Bat in Ejection Meltdown

On a night no less than a chaotic meltdown, the Cardinals’ $87.5 million first baseman was entangled in a disputed strike. As bad as it got, his anger flared to the point where he started hurling objects. It all unravelled in the seventh inning when St. Louis was 6-5 ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates. That’s when Willson Contreras was called up on a called strike three on a pitch that seemed to land in the strike zone.

Despite replays showing it was right on the edge of the strike zone, Willson Contreras clearly wasnʼt having it. On his way back to the dugout, he murmured something towards home-plate umpire Derek Thomas, who immediately ejected him.

Contreras glared furiously at Thomas, which prompted manager Oli Marmol to rush and hold Contreras back. It came down to where Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso had to restrain him from slamming his helmet to the ground.

It further led to Marmol and Thomas arguing at home plate. Descalso, meanwhile, tried to take Contreras off the field. However, he restrained himself and turned around to throw his bat towards the home plate. It ended up hurting coach Brant Brown on his arm. Once Descalso managed to get Contreras safely into the dugout, a few things were thrown onto the field, including a piece of protective gear and a bucket of Hi-Chew candy.

Coach Stubby Clapp and outfielder Alec Burleson from the Cardinals rushed to pick the mess up. By then, manager Oliver Marmol was also ejected. It marked his sixth time being thrown out this season—the most among all major-league managers so far. As it seems, a suspension is a possibility for Contreras.

For the time being, the St. Louis Cardinals will wait to hear from Major League Baseball about any consequences. Despite the chaos, Contreras still managed to contribute on the scoreboard, going 1-for-4 with two RBIs. During the ninth inning, Alec Burleson crushed a solo homer with two outs, helping the Cardinals notch a thrilling 7-6 victory over the Pirates.

Contreras also spoke about his version of events in the post-match interview.

Cardinals’ Contreras opened up on the ejection in the aftermath

Apparently, the way Monday night unravelled, it came as a surprise to Willson Contreras. “I don’t think he had any reason to throw me out,” Contreras said after the game. “I didn’t argue any pitch in any at-bat. The only thing I said was, “Call the pitches for both sides, because you’re missing for us,” he explained. According to Contreras, the umpire had no reason to toss him out. As he views the situation, whatever the umpires believe he said, he did not.

Manager Marmol was just as confused about his ejection, revealing that he was “caught off guard”  by the ejection call. Well, at the end, Crew Chief Jordan Baker stepped in to explain.

Baker said that Contreras and Marmol were ejected for “saying vulgar stuff” to Thomas. Baker also stated that Contreras made contact with an umpire. For the same, the report will now be sent to Major League Baseball for review. However, Contreras denied the claim. He accepted his frustration but said he did not use any foul language. According to him, the contact with any umpire wasn’t intentional. Contreras also explained that when he threw his bat in anger, he didn’t realize that hitting coach Brant Brown was behind him.

The thing is, Brown had been trailing him onto the field while speaking with first-base umpire Stu Scheurwater. When Contreras realized that Brown was hurt, he immediately apologized to him. The Cardinals and Contreras will certainly have to answer a few questions in the aftermath of these events.