Former Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar angered by Giants breaking ‘unwritten rule’
The Royals travel to San Francisco in June to face the Giants, which could be noteworthy for more than the rarity of KC playing regular-season games at Oracle Park.
San Francisco plays an aggressive style of ball that keeps the pedal to the metal for an entire game. That philosophy has now rubbed two former Royals players the wrong way.
Earlier this month, Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer said he talked with a Giants player who had broken an “unwritten rule” by bunting for a hit while his team held a huge lead.
On Friday, Washington Nationals shortstop Alcides Escobar, who was Hosmer’s teammate when the Royals won the 2015 World Series, lost his cool late in a game against the Giants. And that came after Esky had thrown out a San Francisco baserunner.
Odd, right?
The Giants’ Thairo Estrada tried to steal second base in the ninth inning while San Francisco was up by six runs. Estrada then was thrown out trying to score on a bloop single.
Trying your hardest from the first pitch to the final pitch of a game apparently is a no-no. Here is the video of Escobar’s fiery reaction from Jomboy Media:
Escobar didn’t talk after the game and Nationals manager Dave Martinez wasn’t saying much either.
“They did some things that we felt like was uncalled for,” Martinez told the Washington Post, which said Escobar was upset with the Giants breaking an “unwritten rule.” “But you guys can ask Gabe Kapler about that.”
Kapler, the Giants manager, explained why his team plays hard even with a six-run lead.
“We scored seven runs in an inning tonight. With Josh Bell and Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz in the middle of their lineup, we know they’re capable of scoring seven runs in an inning as well,” Kapler told the Associated Press. “It’s definitely not about running up the score. We felt like we’re respecting our opponents and we’re gonna respect our opponents at every turn. This is about using every tool at our disposal to compete.”
That style of play has now rankled two members of the Royals’ 2015 World Series championship team in a matter of weeks. And there are more players from that squad who will face the Giants this season, so who knows? Maybe someone else will get upset when an “unwritten rule” is broken by San Francisco.
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
