Major League Baseball has levied a three-game suspension against the White Sox’ Mike Wright for intentionally throwing at Shohei Ohtani, per Jack Harris of the LA Times (via Twitter). Manager Tony La Russa was also given a one game suspension, which he is serving tonight. Impressively, La Russa’s ejection was the 91st of his career.
The suspension stems from a three-pitch incident in which Wright missed badly on consecutive balls, eventually plunking Ohtani in the leg with the third offering. Wright has appealed his suspension, so he will continue to be available for the time being.
The 31-year-old Wright has made nine appearances for the White Sox this year, his first in Chicago. Though he did not appear in the Majors in 2020, he made appearances in every season from 2015 through 2019, mostly with the Orioles. He made nine appearances with the Mariners in 2019 after being acquired via trade. In total, Wright has a 5.87 ERA/5.20 FIP across 271 1/3 big league innings.
What a joke. Watch the video where they show the pitch in slow-mo. It wasn’t even gonna hit Ohtani until he jumped backwards into it. Not saying he tried to get hit intentionally, but that pitch was NOT going to hit him. Just ridiculous.
Throwing behind a hitter is just as dangerous as throwing directly at him, because it’s a natural tendency to move backwards on pitches that are way inside.
That said, there needs to be more context in the article.
What happened to precipitate the throwing at Ohtani?
Where were the other two pitches to him?
Were all three pitches fastballs, or were they changeups?
I think the answers to those questions would have been more relevant than Wright’s FIP etc.
Well said. How come the article had no details of the incident itself? Why should we have to keep growing the internet for the details when I’m already on this site. Writer needs to do a better job here.
It was the 9-14 game; 9-3 loss for Angels…Moncada, Robert and Abreu.
Y’all aren’t going back FAR enough…
The PREVIOUS game, THREE W.S. players were plunked…the reigning MVP was ONE of them. Moncada and Eloy I believe were the others.
Seems fair …
Plunk OUR best, you gon’ git yours plunked.
3 pitches in a row isn’t an accident.
Okay I went elsewhere to see for myself.
First pitch was straight at him.
Second pitch bounced in the dirt behind the inside part of the plate, definitely wasn’t even close to hitting him.
I do think the HBP was intentional, with the second pitch intended to make the third pitch look less intentional.
First pitch was 4-seam fastball at 90 MPH
Second pitch was changeup at 78 MPH
Third pitch was another 4-seam fastball at 90 MPH
First pitch was middle-middle. Not a good way to intentionally hit somebody. Second pitch was inside, which is where you get Ohtani out. Third pitch was a breaking ball. Not a good way to intentionally hit somebody. Fourth pitch was too far inside.
What we have here is a bad pitcher trying to pitch a good hitter inside.
The White Sox pitchers have hit fewer hitters than anybody else in baseball while thier hitters are in the top third of being HBP. Why would they suddenly decide to send messages now, 140+ games into the season? This does not make sense.
No, it’s not. It’s a lack of control.
A lack of control that immediately began after retiring the first two batters on a combined 5 pitches.
So Wright comes into the game, 4 of his first 6 pitches are in the strike zone, and then he suddenly loses control.
Wriiiiight ……
Remember if you going to hit somebody has to be in the first pitch ,after that look intentional
Pretty sure the 2nd pitch was intended to make the 3rd pitch look unintentional.
You have to throw the second for a strike or close to one for it to work tho
But then it’s harder to claim you don’t have control, correct?
It is just like the Padres/Cardinals game, where the pitcher hit Molina 2 times in consecutive abats. Why not suspend that pitcher?
Adams? He can’t control the ball
Because Molina is not one of MLB’s favorites in 2021. Fair or not, you hit a tier 1 star like Ohtani and the punishment will be different than if you hit a veteran like Yadi.
You do understand the act of intentionally throwing at them is the crime, as much as hitting them is, right?
Three things.
1) Jared Weaver was suspended for throwing over a hitters head. It doesn’t seem to matter if the pitch is going to hit a batter or not.
2) I don’t think he was trying to hit him, I think he was just inept.
3) He was so inept, he shouldn’t be in the major leagues. He got off easy.
You can’t miss inside like that on anybody but as an Angels fan I think there should not be a suspension on a guy who clearly struggles with control.
First batter Wright faced flew out on a 1-0 pitch.
Second batter Wright faced grounded out on a 1-1 pitch.
If a guy is wild, most likely he will be wild as soon as he comes into the game … not after facing two batters.
And BTW numbers show Ohtani struggles the most on outside pitches. So why the heck would Wright be throwing so far inside? He wanted to hit him, that’s why.
@Fever Pitch Guy:I completely understand your opinion and you may very well be right. I further understand that this guy has a history of hitting star players. Although many players are wild from the start of their appearance there are plenty of times that someone is wild after facing a few batters. Furthermore, Ohtani struggling against outside pitches does not guarantee that he will only see outside pitches unless he is being targeted.
What im trying to get at is that I don’t think you are Wright. ; )
Brent, my team used to have a pitcher named Wright ;O)
I agree just because a hitter has a weakness for outside pitches, you don’t throw him all outside pitches.
But pitchers utilize the element of surprise by mixing up the intended locations, correct?
So if at least one of the three pitches was outside, I’d give you points for that. However that wasn’t the case, as ALL three pitches were way inside.
Just doesn’t make sense to throw every pitch in a batter’s hot zone.
With trout out for the year, poor Ohtani has to be the retaliation target anytime an opponent gets plunked on purpose.
Potentially the worst player in the MLB throwing at the best. Get this bum out of here.
This article didn’t mention Cody Bellinger
Thank you Mr. LaRussa for making sure your players are playing the game right.
Zing!
TLR has escalated HBP situations his ENTIRE career. Honestly he should have gotten more, the history with him is there. He ALWAYS goes after other teams stars.
So ignore and enable an opponent to plunk your team 3 times including your star player? When one team is playing for stats and the other is playing for championships then you can’t be careless and apathetic about throwing inside
As far as TLR is concerned every player who has ever been HBP on his team it was intentional and retaliation is order. You are saying the exact same thing in your post. Guys do get hit, the great majority of the time unintentionally and with replay, etc it’s kinda obvious when it does happen.
Throwing inside (with purpose), a hitter knowing a pitcher is going to do this, these are all lost arts and have been for a very long time. That’s problematic in itself made worse by the ever increasing pitch velocity in the game.
TLR wins so I’m not going to critique there because “scoreboard” but on somethings he’s just dead wrong and this have been one of them for decades.
LaRussa is the most pathetic man alive today
Manfred is the most pathetic man alive today
When the HBP scoreboard is lopsided, intent doesn’t have to be a determining factor when it comes to retaliation…. There comes a time when you have to be conscious of that scoreboard and either be more careful, stop throwing inside, or accept retaliation… The umpires and the commissioner also need to consider the context when it comes to ejections and suspensions
AL Central championship? Because Sox are going nowhere in postseason!
Can I get the winning Powerball numbers too Nostradumba$$?
Idiot.
Not the first or the last time Tony baseball will direct a pitcher to bean an opponent. This time was particularly pathetic. Three times?
Directing a pitcher to bean an opponent? That pitcher needs to be directed? What does three times have to do with Tony baseball?
So he just threw 3 balls and hit him on the fourth? Or am I missing something else
Okay so white Sox players were hit in the series?
TLR isn’t responsible for himself should be managing in baseball. And that has more to do with off field decisions.
and in spite of that is still one of the 30 most qualified people to hold a managing spot in baseball.
Mike Wright is so bad, it took him three tries to intentionally hit a batter.
LaRussa should be banned permanently for being a drunk fool. Trying to hurt the MVP is just so LaRussa.
I would of hit him sooner! Sox players were hit 3 times, Abreu hit 21 times this year. Total BS! Angels have supposedly the best 2 players how’s that working out?
And I’m sure Othani did it on purpose….not the guy who’s been known for exactly that for almost 40 years now. Get a clue, dude. Ohtani is a classy player who wouldn’t go down to LaRussa’s level….EVER
@Play the Game Well one of them is dealing with the most horrible calf strain since the existence of man forcing him out of action for almost an entire season. Lol in all honesty though Mike Trout is the poster boy for an offensive player of the year award because he’s no MVP.
Ridiculous. The pitch hit him in the leg and only after Ohtani backed into it. Had he stayed set in his stance, it would’ve been a Passed Ball.
Passed ball? Since when are catchers expected to catch or block balls behind the batter? LOL!!
It would have been a wild pitch, but the point remains hitters almost always instinctively move backwards on far inside pitches.
‘Impressively, La Russa’s ejection was the 91st of his career.’
It’s not that impressive. It’s only one per season!
For the record, White Sox batters have been hit 71 times this season as we post, good for second most in the AL and ninth in MLB. On the flip side, White Sox pitchers have plunked just 47 opposing hitters, the fewest in all of MLB. To insinuate that ChiSox manager Tony La Russa has gone out of his way and ordered his pitchers to intentionally hit the opposition isn’t supported by basic stats, at least not this season.
I get your point, but sometimes you have to look behind the stats.
Not saying this is the case with CWS, but in the past there have been players on other teams who often leaned over the plate and were slow to move (sometimes with padding/guards) because they WANTED to get hit by the pitch … especially on changeups.
Not all HBP are the same. One could be a curveball grazing a player’s hanging sleeve, another could be a fastball into a guy’s helmet.
Wasn’t this Fernando Vina’s strategy every AB? To get HBP? David Eckstein comes to mind but I could be off on him.
Ron Hunt and Don Baylor are two others who tried to get hit by pitches.
Craig Biggio was the all time MASTER of the HBP. He wore an arm guard that basically covered his entire arm. If I’m not mistaken, he is MLB’s all time leader in this category with over 600 HBP. When asked about it one day he said HBP or hit a single, either way I’m on first. He crowded the plate something fierce!
Just looked it up and I was WAY off on his total. He is second by two HBP with 285 total. Ahead of Baylor and Hunt still though
A macro study doesn’t over ride this specific instance, which was blatant.
Blatant? Ordering a pitcher to throw at an opposing hitters head or him doing it on his own as a teammate is a blatant retaliation. Sending a message with a brush back pitch at the waist or lower was in order after the White Sox had already been hit 3 times earlier in the series including to last years’ MVP Jose Abreu and potential future ones in Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada.
Stop it with all this nonsense! MLB overreacted as they have been prone to do in their politically correct 3-outcome game made so by all the analytical nerds over the past couple of decades.
Not about sending a message, it was about evening the score…. 1 or 2 outs away from these two teams not seeing each other again till 2022? this context is where the umpires overstepped with the ejection… let them finish their business instead of forcing a position player in to finish the game..:. Poor Ohtani got hit below the waist…. Get over it and move on
Blatant? Watch the at bat.
If you want to hit a guy fo you throw the first pitch middle-middle? Do you throw a breaking ball?
Spot on!
If this warrants a suspension, then Austin Adams should be suspended until 2025.
Warranted and reasonable. TLR has instructed pitchers to bean guys forever. Wright carried out the instructions.
This won’t change anything. TLR will bean guys and drive drunk forever.
And Trout will always be hurt and never make playoffs!
Tony LaRussa is a f****n drunk and always will be
If he was hit on the first pitch that’s fine let’s move on but when it takes 3 pitches that’s pathetic. And we are supposed to believe the word of an old drunk? I like him with the Cardinals but now all he does is yell at players in the dugout and throw them under the bus.
TLR is a Hall of Fame manager..maybe if everyone watches the series instead the Ohtani cry baby at bat you’d understand. Robert and Abreu were drilled earlier in the series.
Spot on msqboxer!
Umpires.. gotta love them…Hit three White Sox players in the series (including a headshot)? Not even a warning…. I guess the mindset is “Who cares, they are White Sox players”..
Hit the MLB ‘golden’ boy in Ohtani (in the calf, that he backed into))? 3 game suspension and automatic 1 gamer for LaRussa.. Sounds about right for the MLB.