Phillies teammates holding Aaron Nola’s first hit for ransom
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola experienced one of the most unusual debuts in recent memory on Tuesday night.
On one hand, he was the tough luck losing pitcher, having allowed just a solo home run to opposing pitcher Nathan Karns in his six innings of work. That home run, by the way, was the first by an American League pitcher since 2011, and it made baseball history by holding up as the only run in the entire game.
On the other hand, Nola also collected his first major-league hit in the game with clean single to center field.
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Like his first strikeout a few innings earlier in the game, that’s a big moment and a baseball Nola will want to have framed and displayed on his mantle for all his friends and family to observe. The only problem is he’ll first have to acquire the baseball, which is currently being held for ransom by his new major league teammates.
They’re really going to be like that?
Of course they are. But this isn’t the first time we’ve seen teammates holding out on their own. Earlier this season the Cleveland Indians bullpen held Brandon Moss’ 100th career home runs for ransom, which the folks at Apple eventually picked up.
And yes, the Indians were paying attention on Wednesday.
This is true, but it somehow feels different and perhaps more fitting when it’s happening to a rookie. It’s like their unofficial welcome to the big leagues, if you will. Then again, perhaps the bigger message here is that you simply can’t trust anybody wearing a major league uniform, and that nobody is off limits regardless of tenure or financial standing.
Lesson learned for everybody.
Now the question is, will somebody step up and help young Aaron Nola out? Or will his debt be paid by multiple trips to the coffee shop? We shall see.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
