‘I’m not moving’: Yankees and Reds have epic 4th of July national anthem standoff — umpire laughs at stone-faced players
Players from the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds engaged in a lengthy patriotic standoff following the national anthem before an Independence Day game in the Bronx, New York.
What started with at least five players participating in the standoff was whittled down to a final four as Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman finished warming up. Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers, along with Yankees pitchers Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet, stood firmly with their hats over their hearts well after “The Star-Spangled Banner” had finished.
‘I don’t have anything to do today. I’m staying until I win, get ejected, or both.’
Bally Sports Cincinnati reporter Jim Day explained what was happening in front of the dugouts.
“We’ve got a good, old-fashioned baseball game and a good, old-fashioned standoff,” Day said, reviewing recorded footage.
“You don’t see these much in Major League Baseball any more, but Graham Ashcraft, Carson Spiers, three Yankees on the other side … they’ve been at attention for a good five to 10 minutes at this point,” Day added, throwing back to the live feed.
With the four players remaining, none seemed willing to budge, even as umpires told the players to get off the field. First-base umpire Jonathan Parra was seen laughing as he attempted to reason with the Yankees players, who remained stone-faced and looking straight ahead while chewing gum.
“It wasn’t even planned,” Ashcraft told MLB.com. “All of us, we’re glancing over. We saw they weren’t moving. One of the guys told Carson [Spiers] to stay. I was like, ‘I’m staying with you because I’m not moving. I don’t have anything to do today. I’m staying until I win, get ejected, or both,” the pitcher recalled.
Luckily for the participating players, home-plate umpire Alan Porter extended the standoff when he left to get more equipment. The players were then warned that if they kept up their antics once the first batter stepped in, they would all be ejected.
Spiers was the first to leave, leaving Ashcraft to face the two Yankees. After at least 10-15 minutes, depending on the report, the Yankees decided to step down, leaving Ashcraft as the fist-pumping winner.
“If you’re going to win, you’ve got to win, right?” Ashcraft told reporters.
First baseman Spencer Steer added that he thought it was “pretty awesome” and gave the team “a little edge.”
Perhaps that edge worked, as the Reds won the game 8-4.
The Fourth of July follies could have gone much worse, however, as history has shown that umpires are not always as accepting as they were at Yankee Stadium.
An umpiring crew was not happy when a standoff caused a delay before a 2022 game between the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals.
Mariner Robbie Ray and Royal Luke Weaver were both ejected after home-plate umpire Adrian Johnson tried to wave the players back into the dugout.
What at first seemed like a victory for the Mariners when Weaver moved first turned out to be an ejection for both players. The game was already three minutes late when the players were thrown out of the game.
It seems that some umpires have a better sense of humor than others.
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