- Atlanta Braves fans hurled trash onto the field after Sunday night's loss to the Phillies.
- The reaction was due to a controversial call by umpires on the final play of the game.
- Brave shortstop Dansby Swanson called the reaction by fans "embarrassing."
A game between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies ended on a controversial decision by umpires on Sunday night, and the aftermath resulted in a Braves player condemning his own fan base for its reaction.
With the game tied at the top of the ninth inning, Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm slid home for the go-ahead run as Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud attempted to tag him out.
-SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 12, 2021
Plate umpire Lance Barrett called Bohm safe, and despite replay showing that Bohm did not make direct contact with home plate, official ruling from
Braves fans in attendance at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia did not agree with the result, and put their displeasure on display by hurling trash onto the field after the game.
-InsideBaseball (@InBaseballGames) April 12, 2021
In the postgame press conference, while many Braves players voiced their own displeasure for the call, shortstop Dansby Swanson instead made it a point to condemn the fans who littered the field.
"What happened after they announced that call, that was the most embarrassing part of the whole night. Not the call, but the reaction and throwing of things on the field," Swanson said. "Number one: it's disrespectful to the people that put in so much work in to have the field ready for us every day to make sure it's in the best shape possible. Number two: endangering the players is incredibly disrespectful."
Swanson, a Georgia native himself, has been the Braves' shortstop since 2016 and has had plenty of interaction with fans, helping lead the team to playoff berths each of the last three seasons.
"It's an embarrassing representation of our city because I know being from here, that's not how we act," he said. "There are kids sitting in the front row and you got bottles wizzing by their heads. Endangering kids that may not be able to protect themselves is downright embarrassing and it should never happen again."
Swanson's teammate pitcher Drew Smyly, who gave up the sac fly to Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorious that allowed Bohm to score, instead gave the embarrassing label to MLB for not overturning the call.
"We have five different angles on a national televised game, and it's clear that his foot didn't touch the plate. That it was on the chalk. For MLB not to overturn that, it's embarrassing. Why even have replay if you won't overturn that?" Smyly said.
Bohm himself did not acknowledge whether or not he was safe, and simply said that the fact he was called safe was all that mattered.
The call even elicited a response from Los Angeles Angels superstar outfielder Mike Trout and Los Angeles Dodgers star infielder Justin Turner, who voiced their own disapproval for the call on Twitter.