Former Boston Red Sox teammates Kutter Crawford and Matt Strahm had an old fashioned standoff after the national anthem ahead of Saturday's Red Sox vs. Phillies matchup. It's not the first time MLB players have had fun doing this.
However, it may be the last.
That's because their fun was cut short as both players were ejected and subsequently fined by MLB for not leaving the field after receiving a warning from the umpire:
We have an old fashioned standoff between Kutter Crawford and @mattstrahm … pic.twitter.com/InglMFjufR
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) May 6, 2023
According to Strahm, who became a pitcher for the Phillies earlier this year, this was his first ever standoff. He just saw Crawford grinning at him from across the field and took that as a challenge. Even team mascot Phillie Phanatic got involved and teased Strahm while he was trying to outlast his friend.
The left-hander pitcher told Red Sox beat reporter Rob Bradford that at first he didn't realize he was ejected. The first base umpire came to him and told him he had to get going. Strahm playfully replied that since this was his home field, Crawford should go first.
The umpire just replied with "OK." Strahm saw his former teammate leave the field shortly after. He then made his way back to the dugout, where he was a told he had been ejected from the game.
The league has been working on making games faster this season, particularly by enforcing the new pitch clock rule. Strahm said perhaps he should've known better because of how strict umps have been with the pitch clock during games.
The amount of money related to the fines has not been made public. However, Crawford is currently on the 15-day injured list, which means his fine for being ejected is heftier that Strahm's fine. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Crawford will probably not have to worry about it.
"I know there's a guy that went to the same school as him that's probably going to take care of that," Cora said, as reported by the New York Post.
It's highly likely the guy Cora was referring to was Chris Sale, who was a student athlete at Florida Gulf Coast, just like Crawford. Sale has a base salary of $27.5 million, while Crawford is making $730,000 this year.
