Fans in splits over Blake Snell's reason to not start vs Cardinals: "SF figured out why SD let him walk" "Good for him"
San Francisco Giants ace Blake Snell was scheduled to start against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday but opted not to take the mound. The reason was that the Cardinals were not a postseason contender, meaning the game was a dead rubber with no implications.
With both the Giants and the Cardinals already out of postseason contention, the game didn't hold any value. Snell said he would have pitched if he had a chance to "ruin someone’s playoff hopes."
This elicited mixed reactions among fans. While some think Blake Snell should have shown up for the fans, others think he was right to avoid the start and the possibility of getting injured ahead of potential free agency.
"SF just figured out why SD let him walk 😂" one fan commented.
"Pitchers are at risk of injury with each start, let them manage their health," another wrote.
"Good for him. SF wouldn't give him a long term and gave him an opt out. No reason to risk getting hurt. College players do it all the time and even miss bowl games. He's not missing that start if he's locked in for 5. Teams have no loyalty either."nanother added.
"Oh, but doing your PHUKING job doesn't cut it? Ego much? Screw the Fans , eh,?" another asked.
"Potentially? Seems like a sure thing. Scott Boras has lost a step or two. Surprised there isn't an exodus. His players are being put in bad situations," one added.
"Wouldn’t the integrity of the game call for you to show up and give it your all no matter what?" another wrote.
What did Blake Snell say?
While the majority of the fans didn't like Blake Snell opting out of his last start, he had his reasons.
“Just looking at it, I wanted to pitch as long as we were in it and had a shot. We played playoff teams, so I wanted to face them as well. Not playing a playoff team, this game has no meaning,” Snell said.
“I think it was just probably the best case. If they were a playoff team, I’d be pitching. The integrity of the game. I want to make sure I give my all. If I have a chance to ruin someone’s playoff hopes, I’d love to do that. Just talked about it with people very close to me and thought that this was best.”
The southpaw is likely to opt out of his contract with the Giants and test free agency again after posting a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this season. Blake Snell mentioned that the organization was “understanding of it and my position.”
“You look around the league, you see some guys that for whatever reasons … whether it’s workload, whatever, a lot of things that transpire, this is not completely uncommon,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “Sure, we would have liked him to (start), but he came to the decision that he thinks is best for him.”
Whether this decision impacts his potential free agency remains to be seen.