Orioles third baseman Manny Machado caused a benches-clearing incident on Friday after he was unhappy with a tag from Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson and he was in the middle of some more drama this afternoon.
Machado was ejected from today’s game against the Athletics in the bottom of the eighth inning after he appeared to intentionally toss his bat on a swing. A’s left-hander Fernando Abad brushed him back on the previous pitch, possibly in retaliation for Machado hitting catcher Derek Norris in the head with his backswing and knocking him out of the game in his last at-bat. As you’ll see below, the 21-year-old chose a dangerous way to respond to Abad’s pitch:
[mlbvideo id="33552351" width="400" height="224" /]
Machado and Abad were both ejected from the game. Abad shouldn’t be excused for throwing at someone intentionally, but Machado could have really hurt someone, whether it be a player, an umpire, a third base coach, or even a fan. It’s reckless behavior and there’s simply no place for it. He should be embarrassed with his behavior. Here’s hoping MLB sends him a significant message.
For Machado’s part, he says his actions weren’t intentional:
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Machado: "The bat slipped out of my hands. Trying to make contact and the umpire thought it was intentional and he tossed me at that point."
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) June 8, 2014
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