Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves are one of the classiest organizations in MLB and professional sports as a whole, so when their official Twitter account tweeted “Clown move bro” when both benches cleared in the bottom of the fifth inning of Tuesday’s 2-1 win, it came as a shock to some. The incident occurred after Braves starter Julio Teheran hit Washington Nationals‘ Bryce Harper with the first pitch of his third at-bat of the game,
Atlanta GM Frank Wren was among those who were surprised at the tweet, telling Mark Bowman of MLB.com on Wednesday that “I think it was simply an inappropriate attempt at humor from our social media department. It doesn’t reflect how we feel or how we want to do business or who we are. You shouldn’t be directing anything unless it’s positive or uplifting to another team or an opponent. I think that is plain and simple.”
While Mr. Wren and I will have to agree to disagree. I certainly respect the fact that he maintained a high level of class with his comments towards the Nationals.
You see, given Harper’s history of making, well, “clown moves,” I had absolutely no problem with the Braves’ social media department choosing to direct a message towards the 20-year-old star. To be honest, I think he had it coming for a while.
When you see a guy like Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel enjoying so much success at such a young age and coming unraveled before your very eyes — with much of his downfall playing out on Twitter, ironically enough — it’s kind of a breath of fresh air to see a youngster get put in his place.
Josh McKinney is an Atlanta Braves writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
