Bally Sports Ohio analyst Chris Welsh said during the Reds Live postgame show after the Cincinnati Reds' 3-2 loss Saturday to the Chicago Cubs that he thought Cubs infielder Javier Báez should have been ejected for apparently challenging Reds reliever Amir Garrett to a fight as Báez entered the field of play at the outset of a skirmish between the teams during the eighth inning.
"I can't believe Báez didn't get thrown out of the game actually for jumping over the railing and onto the field," Welsh said during the broadcast. "That ought to be an infraction. I'm a little surprised - maybe the umpires will get reprimanded for not doing something about that.
Bally Sports Ohio co-host Charlie Walter noted that Cubs manager (and former Reds player) David Ross said he doesn't agree with Garrett's style and thinks "it's garbage," as The Enquirer's Bobby Nightengale reported.
"David Ross has a point. He's an old-school guy," Welsh said. "Not as old as I am but as you see more and more emphasis on individualism in a team sport, at some point you're going to say enough is enough. So, I mean, at what point is it OK to celebrate strikeouts as a pitcher? At what point is it OK to celebrate home runs as a hitter? ... If it's 'look at me' all the time, this is going to continue to escalate until we see what we saw here this afternoon more often. Because you know that guys are playing with high intensity - a lot of emotions out there - and you just have to wonder where is it all going to stop before somebody gets hit or gets hurt. And I think that's gonna fall on the umpires. It's gonna be tough. Major League Baseball's got to take a look at this and say, 'We want the players to be individuals. We want them to show emotions. ... When you take it beyond the edge, that's when you have a problem with the other team. The question is: We don't know where that edge is. ... I'd imagine that the umpires are probably gonna hear from their supervisors about (Báez charging from the dugout toward Garrett). ... I'm not really sure where it's going to end, what MLB should do about it. It's a very tough predicament that everybody's gotten themselves into. Because how much celebration is too much?"
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