The St. Louis Cardinals had a very eventful game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not only did the Cardinals win on a walk-off home run, but both Willson Contreras and Oli Marmol were ejected from the game.
Contreras's ejection came after he said something to the home plate umpire. It's a common ejection, but afterwards, Contreras threw his bat behind him, inadvertently hitting Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown with his bat.
After the game, Katie Woo of The Athletic shared Contreras's comments on the ejection and the subsequent circumstances. Contreras apologized to Brown after hitting him with his bat and expressed remorse over the situation.
Contreras Apologizes to Brant Brown
"I apologized to (Brown)," said Contreras. "I wasn't looking back, I just threw the bat back. That was not on purpose."
Hitting Brown with the bat as he tossed it behind him was an accident, but the consequences could still be to come for Contreras. Major League Baseball might suspend him for this action, as Woo mentioned that a "suspension is possible for Contreras."
The moment went viral, as Contreras hitting his own coach with his bat drew a lot of attention around the baseball world. Jomboy Media shared the incident on Twitter/X, which showed Contreras hitting Brown with his bat.
Willson Contreras was so mad at this umpire that he threw a bat that hit his own coach and then launched a bunch of Hi-Chew onto the field pic.twitter.com/fslJY71FS6
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 26, 2025
Not too long ago, Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles also threw his bat, though it was a vastly different situation. He was hit by a pitch, and then chucked his bat at the pitcher on the mound.
Robles was promptly ejected and suspended for 10 games due to his actions. Contreras's bat throw was not nearly as hard, but unlike Robles, who missed the pitcher, Contreras made contact with someone.
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It hit his hitting coach, which could illicit a suspension regardless, but might not be as bad if he had hit the umpire instead. Brown wasn't hurt by the bat hitting him, but the damage was done the moment Contreras threw the bat behind him.
Even if Contreras, according to Woo, said he "did not mean to make contact with any umpire," the image of him throwing the bat behind him is not a good look.
As Contreras and the Cardinals await word from MLB about any potential suspension, the Cardinals' first baseman was apologetic to Brown for his action.
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