Reds: Nick Castellanos’ ejection is an embarrassment to baseball

During the fourth inning of the Cincinnati Reds game versus the St. Louis Cardinals, right fielder Nick Castellanos scored on a passed ball and after celebrating, the benches cleared. Though no punches were thrown, Castellanos was ejected. What a joke!!!

Castellanos, stepped to the plate with two outs and was drilled by Cardinals’ reliever Jake Woodford. Was this retaliation for Castellanos’ celebratory trot following his home run on Opening Day? Maybe.

Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos was ejected for celebrating.

Upon scoring, Castellanos popped up quickly, flexed in the face of Woodford, and began walking to the dugout. Yadier Molina, who always finds his way into these types of situations, shoved Castellanos from behind, and the benches cleared.

Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and it appeared that all was well. However, when the Cincinnati Reds trotted back out onto the field in the top of the fifth inning, Castellanos was nowhere to be found and was replaced in right field by Aristides Aquino. It was then revealed that Castellanos had been ejected. What?!

Nick Castellanos’ celebration could be deemed a bit excessive, but he never threw a punch. To be honest, Castellanos’ celebration was about the equivalent of a bat flip. So why in the world was the Reds slugger ejected? Furthermore, how can Major League Baseball “Let The Kids Play” if you’re going to eject a player like Castellanos for showing emotion?

It’s also worth noting that Molina, who actually shoved Castellanos and made contact with the umpire, was allowed to stay in the game. The inconsistent nature of this type of punishment has grown tiresome.

For what’s it’s worth, I love the emotion that Nick Castellanos plays with. While David Bell will likely speak to how he needs Castellanos on the field and not in the clubhouse, behind closed doors, the Reds skipper had to enjoy watching Castellanos play with such fire and passion.