Sports

Mississippi State Hitters Not Ejected For Taunting Creating Poor Optics Of Double Standard

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Dale Zanine-Imagn Images


The Mississippi State baseball team nearly pulled off an incredible comeback against Georgia to force a decisive Game 3 in the Athens super regional. Back-to-back-to-back homers in the seventh inning provided that spark.

The Bulldogs showboated after each of those moonshots. No ejections were handed out.

That provided a stark contrast to their opponent, Georgia, who had one of its best hitters suspended for taunting in the series opener. Is there a double standard?

Mississippi State baseball drops bombs.

The Bulldogs rank fifth in college baseball in home runs. Infielder Ace Reese leads the way with 23 dingers on the season.

Reese was one of four Mississippi State hitters to leave the yard in Sunday’s super regional matchup with Georgia. His seventh inning shot fueled a come-from-behind effort.

The Bulldogs trailed 8-4 upon entering the frame. Reese led the inning off with a 393-foot homer to right field. It was a no-doubter.

The next batter, Noah Sullivan, went deep two pitches later, smacking a 407-footer out to right-center.

The third hitter of the frame, Jacob Parker, then mashed the longest bomb of the at-bat 445 feet to the alley in left-center.

All three of those batters admired their work. Reese’s celebration was the least egregious. He beat his chest while looking at the Mississippi State dugout before rounding the bases.

He then gestured to the Georgia faithful as it booed from the stands.

Sullivan was more theatrical. After crushing his homer, he tossed the bat and performed a 6-7 celebration on his trip around the basepath.

Parker’s was the most ejection worthy given both timing and dramatics. He walked out of the box while watching his moonshot sail into the outfield trees. He threw his bat six feet into the air before leaving home plate.

Tensions were already high as Georgia’s lead evaporated. He sent them up another notch. To Georgia’s credit, no one responded negatively on the field. They took their medicine before later winning in extra innings, 11-9.

They may have a gripe with officiating, though. The Bulldogs were forced to play shorthanded in the series opener due Tre Phelps’ taunting.

Is there a double standard?

Phelps was tossed from a regional win over Liberty after hitting a go-ahead home run. He was then forced to serve a one-game suspension in the super regional.

Georgia would not miss him as they hit five homers to erase an early 6-0 deficit to win 13-12. Still, fans were upset to see their player punished while Mississippi State’s went unpenalized.

“Nice one-game suspension pending,” one Georgia supporter wrote on X after seeing MSU’s taunts. “Why are they not ejected?” another sarcastically echoed.

That response posed an interesting question. Is there a double standard?

Georgia leads the nation in home runs by a rather large margin. They have a tendency to showboat those homers, Phelps included. As a result, a narrative has been created.

Umpires are familiar. The leash may be shorter with the Bulldogs as opposed to a team like Mississippi State who was applauded for exceptional sportsmanship during the regional round.

That does not prove a conspiracy theory that umpires are out to get Georgia. In this case, there could be a variety of different reasons for the leniency with Mississippi State’s taunting.

Firstly, it’s a new officiating crew. What one person deems excessive another sees as a reasonable response in an emotional situation.

Secondly, Phelps’ celebration was a bit different. He gestured towards the opposing dugout. While he insists he was waving at his parents in the stands, Liberty’s coach viewed it differently leading to a discussion with umpires.

Simply put, there is likely no double standard even if the optics were poor. In the end, it didn’t matter as Georgia swept the super regional to punch a ticket to Omaha.