Chicago White Sox play-by-play voice John Schriffen has shown never to be afraid of calling it how he sees it in the booth, which has gotten him involved in several public social media beefs in recent years. But on Saturday, the subject of Schriffen’s criticism was Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Coby Mayo after what he perceived to be a dirty play in Saturday’s game.
In the top of the fourth inning, Mayo had a moment that should have been a joyous one for him, recording his first RBI in the big leagues with a single to left field off of White Sox pitcher Davis Martin.
However, when Mayo attempted to take second base on the play with his teammate coming home, the White Sox instead cut the throw home off and threw the ball to second base, resulting in Mayo getting caught up in a rundown.
Instead of hoping for a fielding mistake from the White Sox, Mayo seemingly attempted to get an interference call by running into White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa, which ended up being unsuccessful after he was deemed to have gone out of the basepath.
Naturally, Sosa didn’t take kindly to the contact Mayo made with him, which was further exacerbated when Mayo gave Sosa a shove on his way back to the dugout. This gesture led to both benches clearing and getting into a bit of a brief dust-up.
On the White Sox broadcast on Chicago Sports Network, John Schriffen and Dan Plesac took issue with the fact that Mayo, who started the altercation, was the first player to walk away from the fray when both teams were on the field.
“Here comes both teams from center field,” said Plesac. “A little Saturday in the park at Camden Yards, tempers flaring.”
“Look at that, Mayo, the first one to leave the pile,” added Schriffen. “Isn’t it funny how that starts? The guy who starts things off is the first one to leave the field. Make an exit, Mr. Mayo, make an exit.”
Plesac and Schriffen then looked at the replay of the rundown again, which further agitated Schriffen.
“Well, that might be something to wake this White Sox team up a little bit,” said Plesac. “He clearly ran into (Sosa). I mean, that’s way out of the line.”
“Come on!” added Schriffen. “And then Mayo pushes Sosa. Rojas says ‘Nuh uh.’ White Sox are sticking up for one another.”
Unfortunately for White Sox fans, this incident didn’t wake them up the way that Plesac was hoping it would, as they would go on to lose the game 4-2, continuing the losing ways that have been on full display this season.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.