Former Athletics pitcher and current team TV broadcaster Dallas Braden believes Joe West confiscating a pitcher’s hat Wednesday opened up a can of worms.
Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson, Braden’s former teammate and a fan favorite in Oakland, disagreed.
Braden and Donaldson tweeted back-and-forth hours after West confiscated St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Giovanny Gallegos’ hat for having a foreign substance on it. In that same game, a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox, West ejected St. Louis manager Mike Shildt for arguing the call.
The former pitcher tweeted that West “backed his umpires [and MLB] into a corner.” The active hitter argued West’s confiscation should be a wake-up call to pitchers.
Braden elaborated in a reply to Donaldson, noting that the substances pitchers currently use are much different than those of their predecessors. Donaldson took it a step further, offering to expose his pitching peers with “an entire catalog of these guys cheating.”
