The temperature was turned up a notch on the South Side of Chicago Monday afternoon. During their home opener against the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn appeared to exchange words Giants pitcher Anthony DeSclafani.
During the second inning of the Giants' 12-3 win, Vaughn hit a weak ground ball to the right of the mound. DeSclafani fielded it, tossed the ball to first for the out, then immediately barked something toward Vaughn as Vaughn jogged back to the White Sox dugout.
DeSclafani told reporters after the game that there are “no ill feelings” toward Vaughn.
“He just didn’t say a nice word to me. So I just said something back. We’re all competing and there’s no ill feelings toward him. I think he was just upset I threw a 3-0 slider,” DeSclafani said.
If DeSclafani's claims are true, what a bizarre thing for Vaughn to be upset about. Of the many “unwritten rules” of baseball, throwing an offspeed pitch in a 3-0 count isn't an obvious one. Sure pitchers typically do sling a fastball right down the middle in the situation, but there's no excuse for Vaughn to say something about it, especially considering he swung at the pitch.
The two faced each other once more later in the game, with Vaughn flying out to right field. Unfortunately for fans of bust-ups like this in baseball, this is the only series between the Giants and White Sox this season. Unless the two teams meet in the World Series, Desclafani and Vaughn won't get the chance to face each other again until next season.
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