SAN DIEGO -- Baseball can be a humbling game. Every player who's donned a uniform knows that your best game can be followed by your worst game without warning. But, thankfully, everyone goes through it to one degree or another, so there's a built-in support system among teammates when things go sideways.
Marlins second baseman Ronny Simon got the full experience Tuesday night at Petco Park. Simon committed three crucial errors in the span of three innings -- and was briefly charged with a fourth -- that helped key the Padres' 8-6 comeback win after trailing 6-0.
After Simon made his final two errors in the fourth inning, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough came to the mound to chat with his rattled second baseman, with Simon's teammates surrounding him for encouragement. Simon was replaced after the inning, wiping away tears as he left the field.
After the game, Simon received an outpouring of support from teammates who stopped by his hotel room and text messages from retired Marlins Gold Glove-winning second baseman Luis Castillo as well as Padres Manny Machado, Luis Arraez and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Simon’s raw emotion stems from his long journey to get to this point. Simon, 25, waited almost seven years to make his Major League debut on April 21, so every time he takes the field, it’s to prove he belongs.
“Just keep your head up,” Simon said on Wednesday morning. “Doesn't matter what happened, just that's the past, turn the page, and tomorrow is another day. Just keep trying. I always am happy. I'm trying to help my team. I'm going to enjoy the game and have fun. All the guys, they told me that's going to happen like yesterday.”
Simon's first error came in the second inning, when he dove for a grounder off the bat of Tyler Wade that hit off his glove and rolled away into foul territory for an RBI single. But when Simon got to the ball and threw home to try to prevent a second run from scoring, his throw was wild and pulled catcher Agustín Ramírez away from the plate to field it, allowing a second run to score.
His second error came in the fourth inning, when he booted another ball hit by Wade. Soon after, Simon made his third error when he tried to retire Wade at second base on a grounder from Tatis but threw the ball away. Wade scored on the next play, an RBI single from Arraez.
"I just talked to him," said starting pitcher Max Meyer. "I said, 'I know you're not trying to do any of that behind me. Keep your head up, and I obviously know you always want to have my back, and I'm going to try to get yours.' Stuff like that's going to happen. It's baseball at the end of the day, and I'm not going to hold anything behind him."
Earlier, in the third inning, a ball hit by Xander Bogaerts scooted past Simon's glove as he moved to his left and appeared to be screened or distracted by runner Jackson Merrill, who was nearing second base. The play was originally scored an error, but it was later changed to a hit.
As the mound meeting showed, Simon's rough defensive outing generated nothing but support. Baseball is an exclusive fraternity and a tight-knit community. Simon found solace when told that Machado, a two-time Gold Glover, recently committed three errors in a game.
"It happens. It’s baseball," Tatis told reporters after the game. "Everyone who's won a Gold Glove or Platinum Glove has had one of those nights. I definitely know he's a great player."
Though Simon didn’t start in Wednesday’s series finale, McCullough would like nothing more than to give Simon an opportunity off the bench in a key situation.
“I'm sure it made him feel great,” McCullough said. “This is a very difficult game, and Ronny is not the first Major League player to make some mistakes. There's a lot of different cases, and to get that level of support from those within our clubhouse as well as around, that's great. I think it shows, too, the type of person Ronny is, and how people view him as a person and teammate and hold him in real high regard, and as they should.
“You spend any time around Ronny, and he brings a smile to your face and [a] ton of care factor. It was just a tough night for him, but you rally behind it, and we keep pushing forward, knowing that this game is tough, and those things happen and have happened to a lot of players over the 100-plus years of this game.”