Skip Schumaker refused to walk Shohei Ohtani during his pursuit of the 50-50 club.
On Thursday night, Ohtani stepped to the plate in the top of the seventh inning needing one home run to become the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. With two on and first base open and trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers 11-3, Schumaker was asked if he wanted to walk Ohtani. The Marlins manager refused.attempted to read
Schumaker's lips and seemed to have his full statement nailed, though we concede a word or two may be off. They came to the conclusion he said, "F--- that. I've got too much respect for this guy for that s--- to happen." Schumaker is a respected former player, a World Series champion and the reigning National League Manager of the Year. What he did Thursday night will make him a lot more fans that he already has.
In that situation, there was no reason to put Ohtani on, but plenty of managers would have just to ensure he didn't reach that milestone against their team. Instead, Schumaker realized the importance of the moment to the game of baseball and what it meant to Ohtani. Ohtani not only reached the 50-50 mark, he completely buried the Marlins on the afternoon. He went 6-for-6 with three home runs, two stolen bases and 10 RBIs in a 20–4 win. Despite his team getting absolutely blown out of the building, Schumaker kept pitching to Ohtani because it was the right thing to do.Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated.
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