Wednesday night saw three Major League Baseball games – Brewers vs. in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by police. Others like Jason Heyward and Matt Kemp sat out their games.
“Given the pain in Wisconsin’s communities and beyond the shooting of Jacob Blake, we respect the decisions of a number of players not to play tonight,” MLB said in a statement. “Major League Baseball remains united for change in our society and we will be allies in the fight to end racism and injustice.”
There will be more postponements on Thursday. The Philadelphia Phillies will not play their game against the Washington Nationals, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Phillies players made the decision on their own and did not consult with the Nationals. The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports the Phillies will hold a light training session on Thursday before heading home.
“I would tell them to go with their heart,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters, including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer, when asked about Wednesday’s protests. “Feelings are feelings. They are never right or wrong. They are just feelings. You have to go with your heart and what your heart tells you. I would support them with what they did.”
The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers will also not play Thursday’s game to protest racial injustice, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the A’s seriously considering sitting out Thursday’s game. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports MLB and the MLBPA spoke Thursday morning to discuss players’ protests.
Furthermore, the Boston Red Sox are strongly considering sitting out Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Passan says the two clubs are currently discussing the situation and have both expressed support for each other. Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ says the Red Sox will play Thursday.
“Full support for it,” said Red Sox fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. when asked about the protests, according to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. “Of course things will get a lot closer to location. Of course it also touches a lot closer to the African-American way. That there are feelings. There are a lot of things that go on and a lot of things that you talk about. to think. ”
Bradley has apparently made the decision not to play in Thursday night’s game in any way, reports ESPN’s Marly Rivera. He has been the driving force behind the team’s possible protest.
“I’m the only Black person on this team,” Bradley said, according to Smith. “That I feel like it’s my responsibility to address it in certain situations, just so people can see what I feel and the things I think about. I can take it over.”
Bradley added that the Red Sox did not have a team meeting to discuss Wednesday’s game because they were already on the field and began to warm up by the time Brewers players chose to sit out their game. He said he talked to manager Ron Roenicke and catcher Kevin Plawecki about things ahead of Wednesday’s game.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters, including the Associated Press, the team will “talk to the players” about the protests. “We will discuss it and see where we go with this,” he added.
MLB has not yet confirmed whether games will be played Wednesday night. There are 15 games on the schedule, including four doubles.
