Roger Arrieta
You remember “Chicken Strip” in Dodger Blue? Sorry, you may or may not know who I am referring to, maybe this will refresh your memory:
If you said Ross Stripling you were correct my friend! So why was the former Dodger (now a Toronto Blue Jay) making headlines on Wednesday?
In the 6th inning during Wednesday’s contest vs the Yankees, Ross Stripling got Giancarlo Stanton to hit a slow roller toward third base where teammate Joe Panik tried to barehand the ball to throw Stanton out but botched the throw to first. This caused Stripling to lose his composure and he began to yell and complain. If you have not seen the play yet you can watch it below:
After the game, the man we know as “Chicken Strip” took ownership and spoke about his poor behavior in a post game interview:
“It’s the most disrespectful thing I’d ever done, maybe ever certainly on a baseball field. I’m completely embarrassed about it, I simply let the moment get too big for me. I saw when it kind of jammed Stanton and it was rolling, he didn’t run out of the box and if you’ve been watching him all year, he doesn’t really run down the line and I’m screaming at Joe, “He’s not running, he’s not running” and Joe, Gold Glover, tries to make an awesome play and the play unravels and I just completely show him up. I mean I literally can’t explain it. Honestly, I’m mortified by it, I can’t stand that’s the way that went. I apologized to Joe individually, I even addressed the team because I feel so bad about it. That can’t happen. That should never happen. It’ll never happen again from me, I promise you that. Joe, the awesome veteran and person that he is, took it in stride and said no hard feelings, but you can’t do anything worse than that to a teammate and I feel terrible.”
There was a conversation in the dugout that the cameras caught between Stripling and Panik, Stripling was asked if that was it or if they talked again after:
“I talked again after because in real-time, I didn’t think it was that bad. I knew it was bad, but I didn’t think it was that bad. And then when I got back and it’s on our screens, it’s on my phone, it’s everywhere, and I see it and I mean, it’s as bad as anything I’ve ever seen as far as showing up a teammate. I really can’t believe that I did it. So I went and right as he was coming up the tunnel I pulled him aside right away cause I just wanted to address it and get it over with.”
He also posted this on his twitter page:
Like that quote says, “Everyone makes mistakes, it’s how you respond to corrections that shows the level of your character.” Sure, Stripling’s reaction was out of line but he’s human playing at a high level and seeing how quick he fixed this issue was not only refreshing and commendable but it made me miss this dude in Dodger blue even more. Children… (and some adults) take notes, this is how you should act after you’ve messed up.
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