Two Major League Pitchers Ejected Over National Anthem Standoff, Face Fines

On Saturday, following the rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, Kutter Crawford of the Boston Red Sox and Matt Strahm of the Philadelphia Phillies, both professional baseball pitchers, engaged in an ill-advised confrontation on the field.

The two friends, who were on the same team in Boston last year, refused to leave the Citizens Bank Park field, opting instead to stare each other down. As a result, they were ejected and are now facing significant fines.

“Zero of it was planned,” Strahm told WEEI’s Rob Bradford. “Just, anthem was over, and I looked across, and Kutter kind of gave me a grin, and I knew exactly what that grin meant, so [I] just stood there.”