A pre-game national anthem standoff between Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Kutter Crawford and Philadelphia Phillies left-handed hurler Matt Strahm ended in both getting ejected — and fined.
With Major League Baseball's new pitch clock requirements, umpires had to boot both players after getting a warning they'd be tossed if they didn't go back to their respective dugouts after the anthem ended.
A humbled Strahm, who used to be on the Red Sox and teammates with Crawford, explained the awkward ejection to sports radio station WEEI's Rob Bradford.
"Zero of it was planned," he said.
"Just, anthem was over, and I looked across, and Kutter kind of gave me a grin, and I knew exactly what that grin meant, so [I] just stood there.
"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."
"I should have known better," Strahm conceded.
It's unknown how much Crawford and Strahm were fined, the New York Post reported.
But with Crawford on the 15-day injured list, his fine is much higher than Strahm's, the news outlet reported.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora suggested a teammate may help him out.
"I know there's a guy that went to the same school as him that's probably going to take care of that," Cora said, the news outlet reported, noting Chris Sale and Crawford both attended Florida Gulf Coast University.
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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