Welcome to the clown show everybody.
During Saturday’s matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals, Madison Bumgarner, the chief enforcer of baseballs “unwritten rules,” took offense to Victor Robles’ less-than-subtle celebration of a solo home run.
That homer, Robles’ third of the season, was undoubtedly a bomb. The only issue was that it only cut the Nationals’ deficit to five runs.
Bumgarner was on the mound in the eighth inning, when the home run took place, and was unimpressed with Robles’ swagger coming out of the batter’s box.
“Guy’s a clown,” Bumgarner said. “Golly, no shame. No shame. Like, it’s 7-1, you hit your third homer of the year, and you act like Barry Bonds breaking the record.”
Robles took notice of the Diamondbacks pitcher’s criticism and came out in appropriate attire for Sunday’s matchup against Arizona. He could be seen in the Nationals’ dugout wearing a bright red clown’s nose on his face.
The 25-year-old has received some praise from baseball fans for his response, as many people see Bumgarner’s comments as hypocritical. The 32-year-old lefty is know to have quite animated reactions to strikeouts. Inside the dugout however, the reaction wasn’t as welcoming.
“When he’s pitching well, he’s able to celebrate and do what he likes to do. It seems like he calls everybody a clown that actually has a big hit or home run against him,” Robles said via The Washington Post.
“If he doesn’t want anyone hitting a home run against him or having any issues with that, then just strike people out or make better pitches to where he doesn’t have to worry about that.”
Nationals manager Dave Martinez wasn’t pleased with Robles keeping the story going during Sunday’s game. After the Nationals’ 4-3 win, Martinez told reporters that’s “not who we are” and said he would speak to Robles about the incident.
Robles is slashing .236/.301/.322 with three home runs and 11 stolen bases this season. Bumgarner is also having a decent year, pitching to a 3.71 ERA with a 6-9 record.