Nick Piccone
So, when playing baseball, batters usually don’t take kindly to when pitchers try to quick pitch them. I’ve been in that position before on both sides, and I do understand both sides of the argument. But last night, the Phillies came off looking bad when they took umbrage to Mets pitcher Hansel Robles’ quick pitch to Darin Ruf. Robles utilized the quick pitch in Monday night’s game and also in the previous at bat during Tuesday’s game with Freddy Galvis, so the Phillies clearly took notice. Let’s analyze what exactly happened.
At first, because the umpire called time as the pitch was coming in to Ruf, I thought Robles purposely tried to get that extra advantage that batters hate. But after watching it back, the umpire was ready, and Robles was ready, so I can’t blame Robles in this situation. You can actually blame Ruf for not putting up his hand while stepping into the box, something you’re taught to do in Little League until you’re ready to hit.
Yeah, that’s on Ruf. The umpire did him a favor, but when you’re in the middle of a competitive game, you don’t really care about who’s right and who’s wrong in this instance. But Jeff Francoeur and Larry Bowa came right on the field to argue, and Bowa was promptly ejected by umpire Dan Bellino. It looked like Bowa was signaling as if Robles almost, or could have, hit Ruf in the head with that, which is a reach.
After being ejected, Bowa directed his anger toward Mets first baseman, Daniel Murphy, apparently due to his admiration for a home run the night before. He even signaled he was gonna get beaned in the ribs soon. So, that’ll be something to watch tonight, I guess.
Francoeur, who was the first one out of the Phillies’ dugout, called the quick pitch “chicken shit” after the game.
Ricky Bo makes sense of the thing. Or he tries to, at least.
The argument here is that quick pitching when the batter isn’t looking could have a result that injures the batter. So, I get that part. But it honestly looks like the Mets, who completely own the Phillies, look like the good guys here. Let me channel my inner Cliff Lee… “that’s baseball.”
Mets catcher, Travis d’Arnaud, actually said what Robles did was a “no-no.”
He was trying to get Robles to slow down and not deliver the pitch until Ruf was looking.
“I just know the guy’s head was down,” d’Arnaud said. “I think the rule is you can’t throw it until at least they’re looking at him. So I was telling him to wait. He threw it. You never know what could happen in that situation when you’re looking down and something like that happens.”
…
As for Bowa and the Phillies’ reaction, d’Arnaud added: “It’s just a coach who’s trying to protect his players. You’ve got a competitive organization. They’re not called the Fightin’ Phils for no reason. They back each other up. That’s all I saw was he’s just trying to fight for his players.”
Is d’Arnaud trying to talk his way back into town? He was originally drafted by the Phillies.
For the Mets, it probably doesn’t matter as much as it does for the Phillies, because this is probably the most exciting series the Phillies have played in all season.
Mets manager Terry Collins defended Robles to Bowa.
“He coached for me. He’s one of my best friends,” Collins said. “I just said, ‘Until they make the pitch illegal, you can do it.’ We see it all the time.”
Said Robles through an interpreter: “I was surprised because I was trying to do my job, tried to do exactly what I’ve been doing before.”
UPDATE: Welp, it actually is illegal. Go figure. From MLB’s rulebook:
Rule 8.05(e) Comment: A quick pitch is an illegal pitch. Umpires will judge a quick pitch as one delivered before the batter is reasonably set in the batters box. With runners on base the penalty is a balk; with no runners on base, it is a ball. The quick pitch is dangerous and should not be permitted.
Guess Larry was right. Cool. So… go screw, New York.