Watch benches clear after Brewers’ Carlos Gomez homers against Braves
It’s not often you see a benches-clearing brawl after the second pitch of the game, but that’s just what happened during Wednesday’s Brewers-Braves game in Atlanta.
Paul Maholm was pitching for Atlanta to Carlos Gomez when Gomez hit a long home run, then admired his shot before running the bases. Gomez then started shouting at Maholm as he jogged to first. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman yelled at Gomez, who continued to shout words to Maholm.
When Gomez rounded third and neared home plate, there was one man waiting for him: Braves catcher Brian McCann.
McCann blocked Gomez’s path to home and started using words we can’t reprint in a friendly blog like this one. Gomez had an equally diverse vocabulary in his response.
Next thing you know, both benches were cleared. Gomez and Freeman were ejected from the game.
This apparently all stemmed from an incident three months ago when Maholm hit Gomez with a pitch.
“I’ve been in the league seven years and I know when I get hit on purpose,” Gomez said. “I’ve been hit many times, and I put my head down. I don’t make any controversy. I don’t apologize for this. Just take the pain back. You can see the replay. They hit me for no reason, and I tried to get it back today. It’s the only opportunity that I have. That’s what I did.”
Gomez never touched home plate, but the Brewers were still credited with a run because McCann was charged with obstructing the runner.
After the game, Gomez was a bit more contrite, sending out the following tweets:
I would like to apologize first to the fans, MLB, my teammates and the Brewers organization as well as the Braves organization.— Carlos Gomez (@C_Gomez27) September 26, 2013
The way I carried myself on the field is unacceptable, I should have done better to control myself and set a good example.— Carlos Gomez (@C_Gomez27) September 26, 2013
In the heat of the moment I let my emotions get the best of me. As a professional athlete I have to respect the game.— Carlos Gomez (@C_Gomez27) September 26, 2013
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