An old-fashioned donnybrook broke out Monday at AT&T Park, but Buster Posey didn’t feel like joining.
Washington Nationals star Bryce Harper charged the mound after being plunked by a Hunter Strickland pitch and traded several haymakers with the San Francisco Giants pitcher before players from both sides intervened.
Yet oddly enough, Posey wasn’t one of those players. Despite being one of the closest guys to the action, the Giants catcher hung back, not even moving as Harper flung his helmet at Strickland, and only budging after punches were thrown.
The Internet, of course, noticed Posey’s apparent indifference toward defending his pitcher, and it did not let him off the hook.
Buster Posey: "Nah." pic.twitter.com/qf4oVFvVTi
— Drew Silva (@drewsilv) May 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/869321464377421824
Replay of Buster Posey's involvement… pic.twitter.com/wMlCjfSpLt
— Mark Freeman (@mfreemantv) May 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/rustindodd/status/869321023786811392
Buster Posey: "Man this outfit clean today. Y'all got it" https://t.co/ddTMqRLFzT
— Big Unc (@KarateSkool) May 29, 2017
Critics and even a former player — ex-MLB pitcher Dontrelle Willis — assigned greater meaning to Posey’s lack of action.
Says all you need to know that Buster Posey didn't bother to hold back Harper. Let him go get his pitcher.
— Kevin Burkhardt (@kevinburkhardt) May 29, 2017
Posey did NOTHING to stop Harper from getting to his pitcher. I've never seen that before in my life #giants #nationals
— Dontrelle Willis (@DTrainMLB) May 29, 2017
Great call by FP. Buster Posey didn't move. Almost like he was letting Strickland deal with his own mess.
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) May 29, 2017
The fact Buster Posey just sat there and let Harper charge Strickland says a helluva lot.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) May 29, 2017
So, why didn’t Posey get involved? The veteran catcher gave his side of the story after the game, a 3-0 Nationals win.
“Well I mean after it happened, I kind of saw Harper point,” Posey told reporters, via KNBR.com. “Next thing you know, he’s going out after him. Those are some big guys tumbling around on the ground.
“You see, (Giants first baseman) Mike Morse is about as big as they come, and he was getting knocked around like a pinball. So … (it’s) a little dangerous to get in there sometimes.”
In short, Posey just didn’t feel like throwing down. You could argue that was the right decision, considering Strickland went out of his way to bring up a beef that originated three years ago. But the Giants catcher still might be hearing about this for quite some time.
h/t For the Win
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
