Max Scherzer had himself one heck of a game on Wednesday against the New York Mets, but he did not get the recognition some felt he deserved.
Scherzer threw 7.1 scoreless innings on Wednesday allowing only one hit. That's a good game by any standard. Even the Mets announcers recognized it and thought the Nationals fans didn't give him enough of an ovation late in the game.
Were they referring to how the fans reacted when he struck out his tenth batter of the night? No. Were they referring to when Dusty Baker pulled him in the eighth inning and he was walking off the field? No. They were referring to when Scherzer, the pitcher, batted in the seventh inning.
Mets announcers scold Nats crowd for what they saw as weak ovation for Max's at-bat in 7th. Said people don't pay attention, are spoiled
— Mike Harris (@TheAthleticMike) June 30, 2016
As you can see, baseball announcers are just like baseball players in that they find dumb things to complain about. Apparently you can add "cheering the pitcher when he bats late in the game" to the never ending list of unwritten rules of baseball. The Mets announcers verbally beaned the Nationals fans over something no one but them really cares about.
Scherzer is a pitcher. His main job is to pitch. In the American League, the pitchers don't bat at all. He is judged on how well he pitches, not on his at bats and the fans know that. Had Scherzer hit two home runs and given up 12 runs, it would have been a bad game.
Perhaps the Nationals fans were so into the game, they were uneasy with the fact that Scherzer was batting in the seventh with Washington leading only 2-0 at that point. Maybe they were thinking strategy and wondered why Baker didn't pinch hit for him. He was pulled the following inning after all.
Or maybe they just didn't think they would be judged by the ovation they gave to a pitcher batting in the seventh inning by overly picky visiting announcers.
When Scherzer left the game in the eighth inning, he deservedly received a standing ovation from the crowd and it was because of what he did on the mound. The fans certainly were paying attention at that point.