Hanley Ramirez ended his first half with a bang…and then two stitches.
Ramirez punched a cooling fan in the Marlins dugout after grounding out in the sixth inning of Sunday's game against the Cardinals, according to the Miami Herald. The third baseman is expected to be fine for the start of the second half, but he didn't exactly escape unscathed.
Ramirez reportedly received two stitches on his knuckle just above his ring finger, which spelled the end of his night. It also marked the end of a 2-for-22 road trip, so one can understand why he was a bit frustrated.
"I got mad," Ramirez reportedly said. "I think it's starting to bother me because I know we can do better than this. Personally, I'm not comfortable with what I'm doing right now. I know I'm playing hard, but at the same time I have to produce more."
Ramirez wasn't the only one mad in the Marlins clubhouse after the game, however, as manager Ozzie Guillen was frustrated with his superstar's antics.
"I don't pay attention to stupidities," Guillen said of Ramirez's injury. "That made me mad. Players get hurt for no reason — hitting stuff. That's very childish. We're not kids. We're grown people. When you struggle and you're a great player you have to try and be better. To be honest with you I didn't even ask him, I was so disappointed.
"We built this ballclub around him. This is the man in this ballclub and I never criticized Hanley Ramirez for not having the season we thought he had, but I will for hurting himself."
Ramirez is in the midst of a down year, hitting just .248 with 12 home runs and 44 RBIs, while posting a subpar.323 on-base percentage (which would mark the lowest OBP of his career). Even with the struggles, though, Guillen sees no reason why the 28-year-old should go off like he did.
"Very stupid injury, very immature," Guillen said angrily after the game. "You're going to hurt yourself because you can't hit? Good hitters don't do that. Good hitters battle back and try to get better. Your injury doesn't just hurt yourself, you hurt your ballclub."
Ramirez is a three-time All-Star, a former National League batting champion and a career .301 hitter, so all indications were that he was a good hitter. Judging by the last year and a half, however, — he hit .243 last season — he might have had us all fooled.
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Photo via Flickr/Mr. Littlehand
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