5:59 pm: Nolin has apparently elected not to appeal after all. He’ll begin serving his ban tonight, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com was among those to relay.
5:18 pm: Major League Baseball announced that Nationals left-hander Sean Nolin has been suspended five games for “intentionally hitting” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman with a pitch during Wednesday night’s game. Nolin, who also received an undisclosed fine, is appealing the suspension. He’ll remain on the roster until his appeal is heard.
Additionally, MLB suspended Washington manager Dave Martinez for one game as a result of Nolin’s actions. Martinez, who also received an undisclosed fine, will serve his ban during tonight’s game against the Pirates.
In the first inning of Wednesday’s start in Atlanta, Nolin threw a first-pitch fastball behind Freeman’s back. His second pitch of the plate appearance — also a fastball — hit Freeman in the right hip. Nolin was then ejected by home plate umpire Lance Barksdale.
The night before, Braves’ closer Will Smith hit Nationals star Juan Soto with a pitch. It seems that Nolin threw behind and then hit Freeman as a retaliatory measure, although he denied doing so intentionally. After the game, Nolin told reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com) he simply had trouble gripping the baseball.
Nolin made his return to the majors this season for the first time since 2015. Over five starts, the 31-year-old has worked 17 2/3 innings of 5.60 ERA ball.
Judging by Nolin’s stats, getting a grip on his pitching does seem to be an issue.
He’s been given some time to work on his grip.
I don’t know if people really know all the details behind this story. Judging by the comments below they don’t. Last season the Braves Will Smith was getting ready to close out a game against the Nationals. Juan Soto did something I have never seen or even heard of a player doing before. He wondered into Smith’s frame of view and just stood there while Smith was focusing on a totally different Nationals batter to get out. He wasn’t anywhere near the on deck circle and I’m not sure if he was even the next batter up. I don’t know if it’s true but a lot of people in MLB say it was Soto trying to intimidate Smith and keep his mind off the batter he was actually facing so Smith would focus on Soto later in the lineup. On it’s face that doesn’t sound so bad to me but I do know it is extremely uncommon. So uncommon it might be the first time any player has ever done that in MLB history. The on deck circle is there for a reason and the bench is there for a reason. Soto was literally closer to Smith than the home plate umpire was and Soto wasn’t even the hitter. So Smith got a little sensitive about it and told Soto to get out of there. Soto did and Smith eventually got him out and close out the game. The next time Smith faced Soto he gave up a home run. He took exception to what he deemed a celebration by Soto and told him to get down the line. I will admit I think Smith was being a little sensitive about it. Smith has faced Soto several times since then and not hit him. I don’t personally see how any of that is clear evidence that Smith was intentionally trying to hit Soto in that game. That would be like MLB saying if any hitter does something really out of the norm and ignores the on deck circle or bench to intimidate or alter the focus of a specific pitcher, that pitcher can never ever accidentally hit that batter again. If that were the rule we would have batters doing weird stuff like that all the time just to make sure pitchers could never pitch them inside. It’s very debatable whether or not that hit by pitch from Smith to Soto was intentional. If it was, why didn’t he do it before? I get why Nolin threw at Freddie the first time. You can’t do it twice though. Freddie is 6’4″. If your an MLB pitcher and you are throwing directly at a 6’4″ target and you miss… man, you suck. You either gotta take yourself out of the game for being so bad and let the next guy try to hit him or you gotta just say kudos to Freddie and try to pitch to him like a real man. Will Smith didn’t throw at Soto twice in a row. It’s very possible Smith never intentionally threw at Soto at all. Nolin very obviously threw at Freeman twice in a row and that is clear intent. No need for beef. Freddie and Soto both seem to understand it and have both talked about it. Nolin had to go though and so does Martinez. The entire thing had to be sanctioned by Martinez and it was also started by Martinez not making sure his young star who isn’t even in the game at that moment is staying where he is supposed to be. No manager should have let Soto wander off so far that he was closer to the pitcher than the umpire was when he wasn’t even the hitter. It’s an extremely odd thing and pitchers deserve to be able to focus on the hitters they are pitching to without distractions. That whole scenario is what caused people to think Smith’s pitch was on purpose. It was just weird. I have never seen that in baseball before.
Nobody is reading a huge post, especially one without paragraphs. I know i didnt.
I tried. I lost interest halfway through. Something about Soto and his antics, yada yada yada, Nolin got ejected.
I don’t think this stems from something that occured last season. Baseball retaliation isn’t that patient.
I think we all gave up
Dude, maybe you need to watch another team occasionally. That’s very common for guys to stray from the on-deck circle to as close as they can to the plate. It’s not to intimidate, it’s to see the pitch movement and delivery!! I see it almost nightly. Shoot, Justin Turner often makes his way practically behind the ump.
Stop trying to justify petulant behavior for a guy who DEFINITELY wouldn’t do the same for you
I mean… I’m not making this up. There are a ton of videos that say this is what the beef is about. As far as other players doing the same thing Soto did and it being more common than I realized that’s certainly possible. I’ve just never heard of players doing that before. Maybe it just never became a big deal until Smith got mad at Soto for it. Whether Smith was actually hitting Soto on purpose for this reason is highly debatable. I said that in the post. As far as the person who said “baseball retaliation isn’t that patient” I tend to agree. The only thing is that Davie Martinez definitely believed that was the reason and that’s why he had Nolin throw at Freeman two pitches in a row. The main point of the comment is both Martinez and Nolin definitely deserve their suspensions. They are intentionally throwing at Freeman twice in a row because they believe Smith hit Soto intentionally because of this incident that happened last season even though Smith has faced Soto several times since then without hitting him. I have some links of people talking about this and specifically Soto standing somewhere most people think he shouldn’t be. Here are some Youtube links: youtube.com/watch?v=of5r20715Qc
youtube.com/watch?v=9XmmCPl4l7w
In the first video they show it almost as if it happens in a row but the first clip of Smith telling Soto to get out of way was actually a game that happened over a year ago.
Nobody is saying you made it up. It’s unlikely, however, that they have been plotting for over a year to retaliate for an incident from last season. And after a year of deliberation and scheming, their grand plan was to plunk a batter with a fastball.
No Smith was warming up when Soto wondered in his line of site. He wasn’t facing a hitter. Does that make sense to you?
petty much?
I mean I get not liking throwing at guys for things like pimping or talking trash, but if they throw at your guy or dirty slide into second and you hit em nowhere near the head where’s your beef? Can’t let them throw at you’re best (only good) player for no reason, especially when he’s one of the four brightest young stars in the game (Sho, FTJ, Vlad, Juan).
Agreed. I liked how players policed the game themselves back in the day. Gibson, Seaver, Nolan Ryan, all the way to Pedro. But with the advent of huge multi million dollar contracts, well, even trying to own the inside corner gets players all hot and bothered.
He threw at Freddie twice. If he’d hit him the first time, no big deal. Going after him a second time when he missed the first time showed clear intent.
the throwing stuff just really gets me. i mean, you dont like the dude or his team so you attack him? cmon.
Agreed, Darkside. It’s stupid. It just goes on forever if someone doesn’t step in and be an adult about it. I hate Will Smith, and he seems like the type that would throw intentionally at someone, but if it costs Freeman getting targeted, then the Braves should step up and discipline Smith themselves. Don’t put your batters at risk because of your fragile ego. That’s assuming it was intentional. Impossible to know for sure. Freeman getting hit was beyond blatant, and Martinez should have been tossed, too.
I mean that’s quite literally what Smith did. I assume you’re an ABT fan, how can you expect them to discipline Smith? Of course the Soto HBP was intentional are you being serious?
I’m a braves fan and Smith is just a giant 6 foot 6 baby. So what Juan Soto hit a home run and celebrated, pitch better! But we don’t know if smith did it on purpose. He has had plenty of chances in the past. I’m just mad they threw at Freddie, the nicest guy in baseball who likes everyone.
If you appeal and lose, they should be allowed to make the suspension longer. 5 games if you accept the punishment, 10 if you appeal and lose.
and the “trial” must be public
Ooh public trial! We can bring back the good punishments!
“Now look! No one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle, do you understand? Even, and I want to make this absolutely clear, even if they do say ‘Jehovah’”
You darn well bring the Pillory back and leave them in it until appeal is heard. There will be 30 mins of throwing produce at them. See if they liked being thrown at.
Best movie reference of the day, Monkey.
So them hitting soto to begin with doesn’t deserve a penalty as well? Only punishing the retaliation? Makes literally zero sense. Stay consistent
One was clearly intentional. The other was not.
Had he hit Freeman first pitch no issue no ejection it was two in a row where issue was
Correct
He won’t be paying that fine but yeah it’s fair. Had to happen after Smith hit Soto. Freddie seemed to understand.
Poor baby Soto couldn’t handle getting hit. You are now the man of your team. Tell them no need for retaliation.
Not happening but hopefully, Smith gets a lifetime suspension. Never want to see him again.
I was going to point out that Soto likely had absolutely nothing to do with deciding whether or not there might be retaliation. Then I reread your post and decided to mock it instead.
Get this garbage out of the game. No cause for hitting guys on purpose.
Says the guy who never played Major League Baseball.
If Martinez wanted Freeman plunked so badly he should have asked it of someone who could hit a target.
Given that we no longer get nightly notifications about a Twitter video “omg look how crazy this pitch moves”
That says players stopped using ST, at least as egregiously as before. I don’t think you can “only sorta” use ST. I feel like it’s affects are pretty distinct
We all know yadier molina is a beast but do you remember the pitch that bounced and struck him in the chest and stuck in place? Nothing suspicious there.
Smith may have thrown at Soto on purpose, but watching it I honestly wasn’t sure, it was with the second pitch. Nolin threw at Freddie twice, the first one was also up high. That was also a little extra out of line in my opinion.
Who throws at Freeman?? One of the nicest guys in baseball. Probably had trouble gripping it for sure.
my question is why do this if your the braves? your trying to get into the playoffs and you have a good team, why this childish bullcrap? then washington HAD to retaliate? just seems like a waste of time all around, you hit us now we’ll hit you, what are they,. 12?
Why do people think Smith intentionally threw at soto? They are winning and trying to closeout the game. Why would he do it and put the go ahead runner on base? It makes no sense. On top of that, they are in the middle of a close playoff race. If he did intentionally hit him he is an idiot, but I think it was not on purpose simply because of what I’ve already mentioned.
Not only that, but the last thing Smith wants is to put runners on base. The way he’s been pitching, it takes a Houdini act for him to get a save.
Lots of respect for Freeman. This guy is a true role model. He went over to Soto during the game and then went right to the Nat’s dugout and discussed it face-to-face with Martinez, and it looked respectful. HBP will happen but Freeman handled it incredibly well, knowing it was intentional.
sounds like bush league garbage from the gnats. They aint makin the playoffs so they hit the braves best hitter. Zombrano did that too.
Enough players go on IL each season due to injuries suffered by being HBP (unintentional as they may be). Some, like Corey Seager, missed 2 months. Not to mention very serious injuries which are career altering (Think Tony C.). The penalty for intentionally throwing at a batter should be far more than five games. I’m thinking 30 games for the pitcher and one week for the manager.
How do you prove intent?
Intent is proven by two back to back pitches. One behind him and the next one hits him. Clearly he was throwing at Freeman. Had he hit him first attempt would be no issue
Dodger1958 wants to suspend pitchers for almost a fifth of the season if they intentionally plunk someone. My question is, how do you prove intent in those situations? Benching a guy for 30 games and docking 20% of his pay is a big deal, and you better be able to prove intent.
bham The same way you prove intent when it’s five games. Either it is intentional for five games or not. You prove intent the exact same way you prove it now. Is that a hard concept to understand?
Easy to understand, but with so much at stake the players union will fight it tooth and nail. You’ll never get it approved as part of the CBA. Five games is no big deal, but 20% of the season is. Is that a hard concept to understand?
So you mean the Union only represents pitchers not players? They don’t want to protect their position players from being hit? Is the fact that the Union also represents batters a hard concept to understand?
Dumb. How many players have hit the IL this year because someone threw at them? Zero
I would throw at Soto. He tries to intimidate pitchers with his posturing in the batters box, and he’s a hot dog. I would throw at Tatis too, and I’m a long time Padres fan. Bob Gibson, where are you?
What are you 80? Grow up and enjoy these young stars. “Oh someone celebrated so I’m going to physically hurt that person.” Get over it. Pitchers these days are showing their feminine side. Go eat some total and tell me how movies were better back in your day
What are you 10? Players have been thrown at for acting like Oscar Meyer hot dogs for years. Flipping bats, staring & mouthing off at pitchers and crowding the plate. Older Movies arebetter
Sorry folks, ran out of time, just like @Mrtwotone2 will with his ageist remarks. Realize there are folks who have lived a lot longer & know a lot more than you.
The bottom line is it dangerous to throw at batters. It is clearly against the written rules. These unwritten “rules” are not really “rules”. Just like they are clamping down on foreign substances, they need to do so with pitchers intentionally hitting batters. Seems to me that pitchers are getting bigger and bigger and throwing harder and harder.
Either enforce the rules with stiffer penalties or get rid of them. Freddy is the heart and soul of the Braves. Had he been hit and injured there is little chance they would make it very far in the playoffs, if they would even make it.
You’re upset about something that literally no professional baseball player is. If Freddie is ok with the current system, that’s good enough for me.
bham. You have interviewed literally all professional players? I don’t know that position players wouldn’t agree with stiffer penalties.
Wonder how Freddy would have reacted if his wrist was shattered (like Seager) and he missed two months from an intentional pitch? Or he was hit in the head.
And Freddy said five days is sufficient? He actually said that?
Go back and read Freddie’s comments. Baseball players understand the unwritten rules. You need to chill out.
The issue is whether five days is adequate. You take no position. I don’t think it is.
And Freddy never addressed whether five days, no days, or more than five days was appropriate.
Quit changing the goalposts.
Show some class. The game was better back in the day. We called guys like Soto and Tatis bush leaguers. They don’t respect the game and it’s traditions. You don’t show people up. Celebrations my rear end.
What are you? 12?
@Barelybreathin, LOL, I already pegged him at 10
These young stars need to understand that the game is 100 years old. It was here long before they skinned their knee for the first time. It’s one of the few honorable things we have left in this society. They have a one in a million opportunity to play at the highest level, and make millions of dollars doing it. Who are they to cheapen the game. Honor it.
The game changes over time. I personally don’t care for theatrics but the game is no longer player by white players only but is now composed of players from Asia, Australia, So America, Central America and the Caribbean. The good ole days weren’t necessarily so good for everyone.
Any player who makes it to the bigs deserves to be there. It was not given to them, but earned. I trust veteran players on a team to be able to police their own. Intentionally hitting someone isn’t the answer.
It is the answer, and has worked for decades. One or two in the ribs will make you stop an think. And then maybe a word from a trusted veteran will make sense.
If these bat flipping celebrations are so cool why are there only a handful of players doing it? Traditions matter.
Pitchers have given up on throwing inside (chin music). Pitchers need the inside of the plate & need to control it for success. Pillar & Harper, I think are the only 2 players hurt by pitches to the head this year. Neither one was intentional.
There will always be hot dogs & show offs in baseball that will result in brawls. It’s part of the game the PC folks will try to take away.
What position do you believe is PC?