SEATTLE (AP) -Nothing can darken this wondrous season for the Tampa Bay Rays. Not even the very public disciplining of one of their young stars.
Instead of griping and turning it into a distraction, B.J. Upton took his one-game benching by manager Joe Maddon for not running out a ground ball as another constructive part of his and his surprising team’s joyride atop the AL East.
“I didn’t run it out and I paid the consequences. It’s a learning experience,” Upton said flatly Thursday, when he was back in center field and batting second for the Rays’ road-trip opener at Seattle after a forced day off Wednesday.
“It happened. We move on. I don’t want to make it a distraction, things are going way too well for us right now. He got his point across. It’s over with.”
Maddon’s reaction: “It sounds like he accepted it appropriately. I’m good with that.”
He had warned his players two weeks ago during a series at Kansas City to adhere to the directive he gave his still young, learning team on the first day of spring training: Play hard. All the time.
“We were well aware,” said veteran outfielder Eric Hinske, adding “we’re all guilty of it sometimes” on frustrating nights.
Such as Tuesday against Cleveland. The 23-year-old Upton, who last season became the fourth player in Rays’ history to hit .300, walked with a runner at third in his first at-bat. His next time up, he was thrown out trying to bunt for a hit. Then he struck out.
When he grounded out meekly to the pitcher in the eighth inning, Upton didn’t run to first base as Edward Mujica bobbled the ball and went down to his knees before easily throwing out Upton. Maddon wanted to bench him for the ninth, but injuries left him with no options to replace Upton that night.
The next morning, Maddon called Upton into his office in St. Petersburg, Fla., for what Upton said was a very brief talk.
“You didn’t run it out. I told you guys I was going to do it,” Maddon told Upton, according to the player.
On Thursday, Maddon said he took action because “it got to the point I didn’t want it to be a team situation” with more players loafing.
“He had to do it,” Upton said. “I understood what happened between me and Joe.”
Maddon said he also had moved on, especially after Tampa Bay rallied for sixth runs in the ninth inning to beat the Indians on Wednesday in what the manager called the most exciting win of this wildly exciting Rays season. They entered Thursday three games ahead of Boston in the division and two wins shy of the team record of 70 wins.
“History,” Maddon said, shaking his head sideways. “Ancient history.”
“I’m not a grudge-holder,” he added, likening Upton’s punishment to a father grounding a child who was late for curfew.
“You do that, it’s not that you don’t not like your kids,” Maddon said.
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