Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura captured headlines Tuesday evening when he hit Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado. After Ventura hit Machado, the Orioles’ third basemen charged at Ventura, who had already taken his hat and glove off.
Safe to say Manny Machado and Yordano Ventura won't be friends anytime soon…
Both players have been ejected.https://t.co/6wEKXlUXWr
— Stadium (@Stadium) June 8, 2016
Following the dust-up, players across Major League Baseball were asked about their thoughts on the fight. Let’s just say Ventura didn’t find himself with many supporters after the dust-up.
After the game, Machado’s teammates and coaches came to his support. When asked if he was disappointed in Machado’s decision to charge the mound, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter quickly replied “no.”
Orioles outfielder Adam Jones also defended Machado, calling Ventura, “a circuit board off balance.”
“Things like that shouldn’t happen in baseball,” Jones told reporters on Tuesday night. “You throw 100 mph or close to 100 mph and you’re trying to hurt someone intentional, that’s just not part of the game. You see the reaction by his players? They weren’t happy he did something so stupid. But I’m glad for Manny for defending himself. Screw it. Defend yourself. If someone’s trying to hurt you maliciously, you go out there and defend yourself.”
Machado also said he didn’t regret going after Ventura.
“Ninety-nine is no joke,” Machado said. “You can ruin somebody’s career like that.”
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he “loved” Machado’s decision to go after Ventura. Maddon told The Washington Post that he tells his players to either “go to first or go to the mound” if they get hit by a pitch.
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo also supported Machado and talked about the competitive nature of the game.
“You go to a hockey game, and everyone who goes to a hockey game that’s not a big hockey fan is saying, ‘Oh, I hope I see a fight,’ ” said Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been in the middle of these situations before. “I’m not saying you want that with baseball. But the two fights this year have been pretty healthy, in my opinion.”
The list of players’ comments go on, but none of them are ready to defend Ventura. Even Ventura’s own manager barely defended him. When asked who was at fault in the brawl, Yost responded “That’s a tough question to answer.”
Though both players are likely to be suspended, Ventura seems to have hurt his team the most. He has been one of the worst starters in baseball this season and continues to hurt Kansas City with his immaturity.
