A hefty suspension may put a halt to any plans of a wild card berth for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras, a well-known fiery competitor, took things several steps too far in an outburst on Monday.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – AUGUST 25: Willson Contreras #40 of the St. Louis Cardinals scores a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning at Bu… | Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images/Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images
Contreras was ejected from Monday’s game in the bottom of the seventh inning after having words for home plate umpire Derek Thomas. After being tossed by Thomas, Contreras more than got his money’s worth.
He had to be held back by several coaches, including manager Oli Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso. That wasn’t the problem, though, as players are always allowed to do that to a certain extent.
It was the tail end of the outburst that may send Contreras to a lengthy suspension. While walking back to the dugout, Contreras threw his bat in what appeared to be in the direction of one of the umpires. It instead hit one of the Cardinals coaches who was in the line of fire.
Frustration will always be a part of the game, especially for a fierce competitor such as Contreras. Throwing a bat in the direction of the umpire crosses a line and it feels like MLB may make an example out of Contreras.
It may come at an unfortunate time for St. Louis, as it entered Tuesday 5 1/2 games out of a postseason spot. The loss of a player with a slash line of .273/.324/.576 and three home runs over the last 15 days could be a major loss.
Nothing had been confirmed by MLB as of Tuesday morning, but with the extent of the outburst from Contreras, a decision could and should be made early Tuesday.
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