Orioles player who publicly criticized Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino lacked context
.jpg "Blaze Alexander #23 of the Baltimore Orioles is held back by manager Craig Albernaz #55 and home plate umpire Ryan Additon after being hit by a pitch in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday July 12, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland.")
The Royals have the third-worst ERA in baseball and were on their way to their fifth-straight loss Sunday when Lucas Erceg tried a pitch up and inside the zone in the seventh inning. He missed his spot.
Unfortunately for Orioles third baseman Blaze Alexander, that 1-2 pitch hit his left hand, and he suffered a fracture.
Alexander was angry and stopped to yell at Erceg, and for a brief moment, it seemed like there might be fisticuffs. Both benches and bullpens cleared but it was all much ado about nothing.
Following the game, Royals players and manager Matt Quatraro were asked about the incident. At that time, and this is crucial, the Royals didn’t know Alexander’s hand was broken.
Quatraro thought the pitch hit Alexander in the shoulder. Erceg said he tried to quick-pitch Alexander and didn’t intend to hit him because he was trying to get outs. And, not knowing the injury, Vinnie Pasquantino was asked for his perspective on Alexander’s reaction.
“We had some up-and-in pitches to him today,” Pasquantino said. “To be honest, that’s a guy who’s hitting over .300 and is feeling good about himself that feels the need that when he gets hit, that he can say something. So credit to him for feeling good about himself like that.
“But he’s clearly not — it’s a 1-2 count. We’re trying to get outs. We’re not trying to give away free baserunners. I think that’s a bad baseball mindset, personally, because why would we hit a guy right there? It’s just common sense. But he feels good about what he’s doing right now, and credit to him, he’s been having a really good year. So, yeah, that was my perspective on it.”
Jake Rill, who is the Orioles reporter for MLB.com, shared those comments from Pasquantino on X, and Alexander saw it.
“Weird take.. Never thought it was intentional but the 2 quick pitches to try and catch me off guard led to me now missing games,” Alexander wrote. “Thanks for the compliments tho Big Foot👍🏼.”
Again, there needs to be some perspective here. Pasquantino undoubtedly would have had a much different take on the incident had he known about Alexander’s injury.
And, so, Alexander’s message on social media lacks context.
