BALTIMORE -- It’s easy to forget that, sometimes, baseball is a contact sport. On Saturday afternoon in Baltimore, it was contact on the basepaths that led to the benches clearing in the bottom of the fourth inning of the Orioles’ 4-2 win vs. the White Sox.
With two outs and a runner on second base, O’s No. 2 prospect (No. 17 overall) Coby Mayo -- who was called up pregame -- cracked an RBI single to left field. It was his first career RBI in his 22nd Major League game.
Joshua Palacios fielded the ball and threw to third baseman Josh Rojas, who -- with Mayo attempting to take second base on Palacios’ throw -- tossed to second baseman Lenyn Sosa, catching Mayo in a pickle between first and second base.
Mayo appeared to try and draw interference on Sosa as he ran out of the baseline to avoid the tag. First baseman Miguel Vargas, to whom Sosa threw the ball as he chased Mayo back to first, then picked up the chase. Mayo, knocked off balance, fell to the ground on his back on the infield grass, with Vargas standing over him before tagging him out. Sosa held his arms up in a shrug as the two teams waited to hear the play call from the umpire.
Then, Sosa walked over to stand over Mayo, continuing to shrug. Mayo appeared to take issue with both Sosa and Vargas’ reactions, standing up and exchanging words with Vargas and Sosa. Second-base umpire Nestor Ceja then joined the fray and, sensing the rising tensions, moved to hold back Sosa and Vargas from Mayo.
As Mayo retrieved his helmet from the grass where it had fallen, then turned to retreat to the O’s dugout on the first-base line, he reached out his right hand and shoved Sosa in the chest. Rojas, crossing the infield, then shoved Mayo from behind as the Orioles’ dugout, followed by the White Sox dugout, emptied. The bullpens in center field followed thereafter.
Order was quickly restored, however, and it was back to business for the two clubs, with five more innings left to complete.
Here’s what those involved had to say.
O’s interim manager Tony Mansolino: “I was excited that he was aggressive on the bases. The throw was low. They did a good job of cutting it. Coby got himself in a rundown right there. He probably thought that the play at the plate was going to be closer than it was. He's new to the big leagues, learning the speed of the game. He gets himself in a rundown.
“Now, he's an infielder, right? So, when we're in Spring Training talking about rundowns, one of the things that we constantly talk about with our infielders is not crossing the line, because if there's contact with the infielder then it's [obstruction] and then you automatically get second base. So I think instinctually Coby sought out the contact right there with the infielder, which, visually, it probably didn't look the best but I think most coaches will probably go, ‘Not a bad baseball play.’ Just didn't work [in] our favor. Umpire made a good call.”
White Sox manager Will Venable: “I don’t think it was that big a deal, probably just Mayo trying to make a play and get an interference call and [I’m] sure Sosa just didn’t appreciate getting run into intentionally, but, yeah, not a big deal.
“These guys are a group that’s connected and have each other’s back, and I think more than anything just want to make sure that everyone stays safe out there and stays out of trouble, so the guys did a good job of handling the situation.”
Mayo: “Obviously, just trying to get to second base and trying to get into scoring position for Heston [Kjerstad]. [They cut] it off and got into a rundown. Obviously, just being told in the Minor Leagues to try to stay in a rundown -- and I thought he was in the baseline and [I was] trying to get some contact. Didn’t mean for it to escalate. I wasn’t trying to do that, it just did.
“I mean, the guys always have your back. I think everyone in here will fight for one another — not literally, but, you know, everyone has each other’s back. I think that’s just what happened. Looking out for teammates, and we’ll do the same thing for them.”
Rojas: “He came out of the baseline, trying to get runner’s interference. Sosa had some words to say to him and he gave Sosa a little shove. So I just gave him a friendly little shove. … I wasn’t going to let him get a free one on Sosa. Just gave him [a shove] back and it’s all good.”
Sosa, via team interpreter Billy Russo: “I think he tried to make a dirty play and after that I just went to him and tried to ask him, ‘Why did you do that?’ His reaction was to push me. … We know that each one of us have everybody else’s back. That’s what it is. If we’re going to fight, we’re going to fight together.”