Angels outfielder Mike Trout (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Mike Trout was understandably upset after the Giants went after his head
Can we all just take a break from baseball’s unwritten rules? After the sheer number of Twitter takes about Fernando Tatis, Jr.’s battle with the Texas Rangers from Monday night, I assumed MLB could go a day without embarrassing itself. I was wrong.
Sure, it’s not as bad as Rangers manager Chris Woodward and Padres manager Jayce Tingler both shaming Tatis for hammering a 3-0 meatball for a grand slam while the Pads had a significant advantage in the game, but the Giants actions towards Mike Trout on Tuesday night deserve their own sort of scorn.
Giants pitcher Shaun Anderson threw at Trout’s head twice in the same at-bat
Anderson and the Giants made their intentions clear enough, throwing at Trout’s head two times just a few pitches apart. Trout was unable to get comfortable during the at-bat, and even looked annoyed following the second pitch from Anderson.
The Giants were up seven runs at the time, and if there’s any action that’s to be considered “bush league”, it should be throwing at an opposing team’s best player — and one of the greatest talents in league history — while holding such an advantage.
After the game, Joe Maddon claimed Anderson didn’t have any intent behind the near-beanballs.
“That’s just a young man that’s not ready to be here. There’s nothing malicious about it,” Maddon said, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Anderson’s appeared in ten games this season, and has over 100 innings pitched in his MLB career. Had this been his MLB debut, Maddon’s comments would hold more weight. Angering the greatest player in the game probably won’t favor well for this Giants team, anyhow.