Cincinnati Reds camper Nick Castellanos has been suspended for two games for his actions Saturday, prompting a fight to eliminate the benches with the St. Louis Cardinals. Louis Cardinals.
Castellanos, who is appealing the suspension, was not the only player sanctioned, as he and five other people were fined.
The drama actually began on Thursday, opening day, when the Reds right-hander hit a home run and jumped out of the box before throwing the bat. After a day off for the teams on Friday, Castellanos was hit by a throw from Cardinals reliever Jake Woodford in the fourth inning of Saturday’s game.
Disappointed by the cut, Castellanos recovered the ball and offered to throw it back to Woodford before leaving it out of play. When Castellanos came to score on a wild throw later in the inning, he slipped and collided with Woodford, who was covering the home plate, and then stood up, shouted and flexed in front of the pitcher.
As Castellanos began to walk away, catcher Yadier Molina ran up and hit him from behind, and the benches and bulls emptied. Only Castellanos was expelled, as referee crew chief Jim Reynolds said Castellanos “re-hired the pitcher unnecessarily” after slipping home.
“I’m not here to disrespect anyone or anything, but I want to win,” Castellanos said after winning Saturday’s 9-6.
Mike Shildt, manager of St. Louis, saw it differently.
“You don’t have to put yourself on top of someone and make fun of someone,” Shildt said.
The information from The Associated Press was used in this report.