CHICAGO — When asked about the identity of the Pirates in 2018 on Thursday morning, Clint Hurdle described a roster where players hold each other accountable and several veterans fill different leadership roles. Then, unprovoked, Hurdle voiced displeasure with the actions of Cubs second baseman Javier Baez and catcher Willson Contreras the night before.
Baez, who had hit three home runs the first two games of the series, flipped his bat in the air in the seventh inning when he hit a pop fly to Jordy Mercer at shortstop, and Contreras argued a called third strike in the sixth inning. Baez hit a solo home run in the eighth to cap the Cubs' 13-5 victory over the Pirates at Wrigley Field.
"You watch their kid flip that bat in the air last night," Hurdle said. "I don’t know if you saw it. Where’s the respect for the game? The guy hits four homers in two days, so that means you can take your bat and throw it 15, 20 feet in the air when you pop up like you should have hit your fifth homer? I would bet the men over there talked to him because I do believe they have a group over there that speaks truth to power."
Baez became the first Cubs player to have back-to-back multi-home run games since Alfonso Soriano in 2008. The 25-year-old hit a three-run homer in the second inning Wednesday and a pair of solo home runs in the Pirates' victory on Tuesday. Hurdle also spoke glowingly of Baez Thursday morning, calling the right-handed hitter "dynamic" and "one of the more exciting players in the game."
But his bat flip, which was likely the result of frustration because he hit a weak fly ball with a runner on second against Josh Smoker, was one example Hurdle used of the need for leadership and clubhouse chemistry. He spoke of what he enjoys about the Pirates' roster, particularly the group's ability to "speak truth to one another," and veterans not being afraid to correct the mistake of any teammate.
After detailing Baez's bat flip, Hurdle then brought up Contreras arguing strikes throughout his at-bat. Tyler Glasnow struck out the 25-year-old with an inside four-seam fastball, and Contreras raised his hand to his chest while voicing frustration with home-plate umpire Dan Bellino before walking slowly back to the third-base dugout.
"Their catcher, I mean, a talented young man. There’s a day he would have been thrown out as soon as he did this that the ball was high," Hurdle said, raising his right hand to his chest. "Those are things you try to help your young players learn as they go through it, but that’s not respect for the game. That’s not the way we do things here."
