Wednesday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals easily could have fallen off the rails and turned into a hostile game of beanball. But fans can thank Freddie Freeman for putting a stop to that.
Tensions somewhat sparked during Tuesday’s Braves win when closer Will Smith hit Nationals star Juan Soto with a pitch. Smith and Soto have some history, and Soto wasn’t happy about getting hit there. Given baseball’s nonsensical unwritten rules, retribution felt inevitable. And the way Nats starter Sean Nolin handled that task could have been enough to spark a bench-clearing incident.
Nolin threw his first pitch high and behind Freeman. The next pitch hit the Braves star, and Nolin was ejected because, well, it was obvious. You can’t get two attempts there.
Sean Nolin tries to hit Freddie Freeman, misses, hits him on the second try, and gets thrown out of the game. pic.twitter.com/90zMXzFubw
— Major League GIFs (@MajorLeagueGIFs) September 8, 2021
But look how Freeman responded. He cooled the tensions with some great sportsmanship.