Over the past week, a video of a huge bat flip and slow trots around the diamond went viral. The usual debate ensued — some said that if a home run hitter can celebrate however he or she wants, while some said that this is why baseball is being ruined and that the high schooler deserves to be hit with a fastball.
A lot of times, these debates don’t involve (active) major league players, but one chimed in to this one. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty quote-tweeted the video and directed attention to an article about what actually went down.
“I had the same response until I was given context to how this happened,” Flaherty tweeted “…I would’ve done the same thing.”
Here’s the full video. The hitter, Bryce Rainer, who is ranked the No. 4 player in the class of 2024 on Perfect Game, absolutely took his sweet time getting to first base.
I’m going to defend this right here
I had the same response until I was given context to how this happened
I’m not going to put out the context of what was said to the players during the game by opposing fans (a line was crossed) … but damn I would’ve done the same thing https://t.co/euIjEbEufB
— Jack Flaherty (@Jack9Flaherty) March 3, 2022
Essentially, the celebration was geared more toward the trash-talking fans than toward the pitcher. In the intense game between a pair of excellent California baseball teams, some fans were talking about the families of players, according to the Daily News.
“It was a one-time thing,” Rainer said to the outlet. “The things they were saying were uncalled for, so, considering the circumstances, I’m OK with it.”
It wasn’t just Rainer and Harvard-Westlake who thought it crossed a line. Notre Dame head coach Tom Dill told the Daily News that he had “plenty of conversations” with students about the heckling the following morning.
The three-run home run was part of an inning that broke up a 3-3 tie and helped propel Harvard-Westlake to a 10-3 victory.