Interleague play led to a warning track standoff Saturday in Philadelphia as former teammates were ejected at the Phillies game before the first inning had even begun.
The American League’s Boston Red Sox were visiting the City of Brotherly Love over the weekend for a three-game set against the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies when a pitcher’s duel took place from just outside the dugouts.
Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, after the National Anthem had finished playing, relief pitcher Kutter Crawford from the Sox and Phillies starter Matt Strahm exchanged glances and planted their feet for what WEEI’s Rob Bradford called “an old fashioned standoff.”
We have an old fashioned standoff between Kutter Crawford and @mattstrahm … pic.twitter.com/InglMFjufR
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) May 6, 2023
Footage from Citizens Bank Park showed as neither appeared to make any moves to leave the field for over two minutes, even as Philadelphia mascot, Phillie Phanatic, began harassing Crawford as though he were trying to make the King’s Guard at Buckingham Palace flinch.
Before the players were ultimately ejected, the New York Post reported that they were warned by the umpires to return to their respective dugouts. Each was hit with an as yet undisclosed fine for violating pitch clock requirements.
Boston’s Manager Alex Cora commented on the monetary hit and said, “I know there’s a guy that went to the same school as him that’s probably going to take care of that.”
The statement was a reference to Crawford’s fellow Florida Gulf Coast University alum Chris Sale. The reliever’s penalty was expected to be larger than his former Sox teammate Strahm’s as Crawford had been placed on the 15-day injured list.
Meanwhile, Strahm spoke with Bradford after the game and detailed, “Zero of it was planned.”
Matt Strahm explains what happened in pregame standoff with Kutter Crawford: pic.twitter.com/sHWF6g4UBS
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) May 7, 2023
“Just, anthem was over, and I looked across, and Kutter kind of gave me a grin,” the left-handed pitcher said, “and I knew exactly what that grin meant, so — just stood there.”
“If you know me, you know competition is everything to me, so kind of felt like I was being called out right there. Looking back on it, probably not the wisest decision I’ve made in my big-league career,” Strahm added, but also claimed that he hadn’t received the warning from the umpire, noting he was surprised at the ejection.
However, by his account, the standoff did not interfere with the game as the starting pitcher was throwing the last of his warmup throws when they heeded to the word of the umpire and returned to their dugouts.
“Lesson learned,” he went on. “Like I said, embarrassing moment, learned from it, move on.”
The Red Sox went on to win Saturday’s matchup 7-4 over the Phillies before being routed 6-1 on Sunday. Boston ultimately got the better of the series, taking two of three and both teams were sitting at fourth place in their division as of Monday.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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