The Atlanta Braves have finally put something together, winning back-to-back game for the first time in the 2025 Major League Baseball season. However, not everyone seemed to be giving it their all in Saturday’s win.
Jarred Kelenic, who is hitting .170 on the season, hit what looked like a home run in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Thinking he’d knocked one out the park, Kelenic admired the hit while slowly emerging from the batter’s box and jogging towards first base. However, the ball ended up hitting the wall, and by the time Kelenic realized he needed to hustle to make it to second base, it was too late. The Twins threw him out at second, making for a terrible look for the struggling hitter, especially as the game was tied 3-3 at the time.
Jarred Kelenic, my man, you can’t pimp a single off the wall and get thrown out at second base when you’re hitting .174 pic.twitter.com/MYANCrOaG9
— Lindsay Crosby, big baseball guy (@CrosbyBaseball) April 20, 2025
After the game, Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked he had any comment on Kelenic’s lack of hustle, to which he offered a pithy response.
“Was I supposed to,” said Snitker, via MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman.
He protected Kelenic by replying “Was I supposed to” when asked if he had said anything to Kelenic. He certainly could have said something, seeing how Kelenic’s home run trot put him on the dugout side of the first base coach’s box when the ball hit the wall. https://t.co/z49jv2pr6a
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) April 20, 2025
Many Braves fans were calling for Snitker to bench Kelenic following the play but it seems as though the skipper didn’t think such an action was warranted.
That’s different from 2019 when Snitker removed Ronald Acuña Jr. from a game after the then-21-year-old did exactly what Kelenic did, admiring a presumed home run that ended up being a very long single because he didn’t run full-speed.
“He didn’t run,” Snitker said at the time. “You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys, and that name on the front is a lot more important than that name on the back of that jersey. You can’t do that. We’re trying to accomplish something special here. Personal things have to be put on the back burner.”
The 2023 NL MVP was professional afterward, saying he respected Snitker’s decision. However, it was hard for him not to notice the double standard when Kelenic stayed in the game after doing the same thing. The Braves star shared his thoughts on social media, saying “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”
You can quibble with Acuña’s decision to comment publically, but it’s a bad look for Snitker. At the very least, it appears that there’s a double standard at work here. We will be keen to see if there are any further comments from Snitker, Acuña, or Kelenic now that it’s all out in the open.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.