By Johnathan Jones August 26, 2025 at 8:25am
Video of St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras went viral Monday night after he threw his bat and struck his own hitting coach during a heated ejection.
The clip spread quickly on X, where numerous baseball fans demanded that Contreras be suspended — or even kicked off the team.
The meltdown happened in the bottom of the seventh inning at Busch Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Contreras was struck out, home plate umpire Derek Thomas ruled, per The Athletic.
Contreras immediately argued the call and was ejected from the game.
Willson Contreras was so mad at this umpire that he threw a bat that hit his own coach and then launched a bunch of Hi-Chew onto the field pic.twitter.com/fslJY71FS6
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 26, 2025
After his ejection, Contreras attempted to confront Thomas near home plate. He was restrained by manager Oli Marmol and bench coach Daniel Descalso.
As he was being pulled away, Contreras threw his bat toward the first-base umpire, CBS Sports reported.
Instead of hitting the umpire, the bat struck Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown.
Should Willson Contreras be suspended?
Contreras then stormed into the dugout and threw a bucket of treats onto the field.
Fans called on the 33-year-old to either be suspended or kicked off the team.
This bum is a disgrace for this team, so disrespectful to his coach, pitch was a strike
— Newman The Trader (@newmanthetrader) August 26, 2025
Give him a couple of games to think about it.
— 19Nineteen19 (@golftrout) August 26, 2025
He should be cut from the team!
— TruBluDad 🇺🇸 (@TruBluDad) August 26, 2025
Very bad look. Shame on the manager if he plays tomorrow
— New York to Las Vegas✈️ (@Yankees44Giants) August 26, 2025
hitting your own coach with a bat should be season ending lmao
— Daniel (@growing_daniel) August 26, 2025
Crew chief Jordan Baker told a reporter after the game that Contreras was tossed for using “vulgar” language and for making contact with an umpire.
Contreras denied the accusation.
“I don’t think he had any reason to throw me out,” Contreras said after the game, per CBS Sports. “I didn’t argue any pitch in any at-bat. The only thing I said was, ‘Call the pitches for both sides, because you’re missing for us.’”
“I turned around. He threw me out. He had no reason for it. Apparently, he heard something that I said, but I didn’t say that,” Contreras said.
The Cardinals won the game 7-6, and are 65-67 on the season.
It is not yet clear whether the league will discipline Contreras.
Johnathan Jones is a journalist, novelist, and media analyst with experience as a reporter, editor, and producer across radio, television, and digital platforms. Follow him on X: @misterjkjones
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