(670 The Score) A day later, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn could only tip his cap to Cubs catcher Willson Contreras for authoring a bat flip for the ages in the crosstown series Friday evening.
Contreras hit a three-run homer in the third inning of the Cubs’ dominating 10-0 win, then slung his bat high – very, very high – into the air in excitement.
“If you don’t want the guy to potentially showboat or bat flip or whatever, get him out,” Hahn said on Inside the Clubhouse on 670 The Score. “Don’t give him the opportunity to have something to celebrate. My answer is exactly the same whether we’re talking about an opponent celebrating something against us as it would be a year ago when we’re talking about Tim Anderson or any of our players who are demonstrating a little personality on the field.”
In the seventh inning, White Sox reliever Jimmy Cordero hit Contreras in the back with a 1-0 fastball and was promptly ejected. White Sox manager Rick Renteria and pitching coach Don Cooper were also tossed for arguing, and Renteria later maintained “the ball got away” from Cordero. The Cubs viewed the pitch as intentional retaliation.
Hahn didn’t directly address Cordero’s pitch that hit Contreras, but he spoke generally on the topic of retaliation.
“There’s not room in the current game in my opinion for potentially risking a player’s health by intentionally throwing an object at them,” Hahn said. “I think that’s probably the best approach, and it’s one our club has followed over the course of the last several years. Obviously, we’ve far more often been on the other side of potentially receiving criticism for perhaps showing a little bit more flair or excitement on the field than old-school baseball would allow. But again, that’s part of a player showing their own personality. There’s a way to stop that from happening, and that’s by keeping them in the park.”
Contreras believed the hit by pitch was intentional and harbored no regrets Friday night.
"I knew it was coming," Contreras said. "I have no regrets, zero regrets. Once they hit me, I don't think that's the smartest thing to do. He got thrown out. And who knows if he's going to get suspended?"