Craig Stammen’s ejection was the Padres moment fans needed from their manager

Let’s turn it up, Craig Stammen. The Padres needed a little fire. So, Stammen getting ejected with one out left in a 9-3 win over the Orioles was kind of nice to see. Sometimes these moments tell us something. And this one told Padres fans that Stammen is not going to leave his players standing alone when he thinks the situation is being read unfairly.

The whole thing happened after Ron Marinaccio hit Gunnar Henderson in the ninth inning. The Orioles clearly had their own read on it. And to be honest, the timing looked bad. The Padres were up six runs. Xander Bogaerts had already been drilled in the helmet earlier in the game. And Freddy Fermin had also been struck near the head area on a warmup pitch and was removed.

Craig Stammen showed he will not leave his players hanging

So when Henderson got hit, the umpires put two and two together and decided they had their answer.

Stammen disagreed. And it doesn’t matter if his argument was true or not. We don’t have to buy the Padres’ version of events. But Stammen’s argument was pretty simple. Henderson is dangerous and you can’t let him get comfortable. 

Inside fastballs look a whole lot different after your own shortstop has been hit in the helmet. He could have let Marinaccio get run, walked back to the dugout, brought in Adrian Morejon and moved on. The Padres were one out away from winning. Instead, he came out hot. And that was exactly the right move.

Stammen was not going to win that argument. But it’s these moments that can activate a dormant team. Players notice that stuff. Stammen clearly believed his pitcher deserved better than a quick ejection with no warning. So he made sure everyone saw him say it. It might be a little performative, but that’s part of the job. 

He’s still building himself as a major-league manager. He is not some longtime dugout institution with years of built-in credibility. Padres fans are still learning what he looks like when things get uncomfortable.

Saturday offered a pretty clear answer. The ejection deserves its place in the conversation because it showed something about Stammen. The Padres had two players leave after scary head-related moments. Then their pitcher was tossed after the umpires believed he crossed a line. Stammen looked at the entire picture and decided that he wasn’t going to let the game end quietly.

Good for him.

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