Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado has become an easily disliked figure outside of Birdland
By Brian Pinter
4. Sunday, June 8, 2014: The Infamous Bat-Throw
Maybe emotions were still running high from two nights prior but on this Sunday afternoon; a tossed bat sparked another bench-clearing altercation.
A 1-0 pitch from A’s reliever Fernando Abad saw Machado swing, and launch his bat hurdling over the right shoulder of third baseman Alberto Callaspo. Abad had thrown inside, probably a little too inside the previous pitch, however, throwing a bat is a terrible retaliation.
As a result, both benches cleared and Machado and Abad were both ejected from the game.
As a further result, Machado was suspended for five games for his actions but did offer an apology for his actions.
Speaking with MASN reporter Roch Kubatko, Manny Machado had this to say in regards to his actions,
"“I want to apologize to all my teammates, my coaching staff, the entire Orioles organization and Oakland, and to our fans for the way I acted and overreacted on that.”"