National Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Reds great Johnny Bench said he didn't take issue with Yermín Mercedes hitting a home run on a 3-0 count against position player Willians Astudillo on Monday with a 15-4 lead in the ninth inning during the Chicago White Sox's rout of the Minnesota Twins - though Bench wouldn't necessarily have ignored a sign from the dugout.
Bench discussed one of Major League Baseball's "unwritten rules" and White Sox manager Tony La Russa's reaction to Mercedes' decision to swing away, during an appearance Wednesday on The Dan Patrick Show.
"Alright, let's just call the game. Alright? We've got the mercy rule - let's just cancel the game," Bench told Patrick. "So we forfeit. Let's just go ahead and quit. I mean, the guy's up there - he's trying to pad his stats. There's no rules anymore. (I) probably (would have swung at the 3-0 pitch). But if I had gotten the take sign, obviously not. ... I don't have any problem with it. But I do have a problem with (Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey) throwing at (Mercedes in retaliation on Tuesday night)."
Social media reactions Wednesday to the controversy, including remarks from La Russa:
Bench also insisted that he believes today's MLB players do not enjoy being no-hit, after Patrick suggested that they might not care as much about it as players did during Bench's playing career.
Earlier this week, Bench invited competition from anyone willing to take on the Johnny Bench Challenge - a nod to the famous photo taken during his playing career in which Bench held seven baseballs in one hand.
In March, Bench shared information about how to donate to the Pat Barry Memorial Scholarship Fund as a tribute to his long-time friend who died earlier this year of complications from COVID-19.
In January, Bench told Patrick he and fellow Hall of Famers still consider Hank Aaron the home run king.
Last December, Bench said he was brought to tears by a friend who bought more than $1 million of his memorabilia at auction and donated the items back to him.
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