So it turns out that part of last night’s really good story is a really bad story.
As you may have seen, Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken became the first woman to coach on the field in an MLB game when she took over first base for sacked coach Antoan Richardson. I don’t want to lose sight of this as a really important and positive story, although there is more context that deserves discussion now:
When Giants first base coach Antoan Richardson was kicked out in the 3rd inning, it opened the door for Alyssa Nakken to take over and become the first woman to coach in a major league regular season game. #Enormously #Historical #AlyssaNakken @SFGiant @CBSN BayArea @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/UMMejGyLRl
— vernkpix (@vernKPIX) April 13, 2022
But why was Richardson kicked out in the first place? What exactly happened that resulted in a first base coach being kicked out of the dugout? That’s pretty unusual.
Well, here’s Richardson explaining what happened between him and Padres, acting third base coach (and former St. Louis Cardinals manager) Mike Shildt. It sounds like Shildt escalated things to an unnecessary level, according to Richardson, and the undertones there were ugly:
Sign*
Full story: https://t.co/yWhFbl6JCt
— Evan Webeck (@EvanWebeck) April 13, 2022
Antoan Richardson: Mike Shildt told Kapler to “control this motherfucker”.
“I think his words were disproportionately unjustified and had a racist undertone when he referred to me as ‘that motherfucker,’ as if I should be controlled, owned, or enslaved.” pic.twitter.com/GJ9pg1VkFm
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 13, 2022
Antoan Richardson said he spoke out because “it’s important that we raise awareness … I’m not just sharing this story for myself, I’m sharing this story for other people who look like me.” he before his expulsion: pic.twitter.com/UKR6ZkNXBQ
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 13, 2022
If that’s what Shildt said, it would seem very similar to me. Maybe he’d think he didn’t mean it, but it just sounds so bad. It’s just not the way to talk to anyone, let alone in a way that has those undertones.
It is unlikely that this will simply go away as Shildt has to answer for what Richardson says and Richardson will certainly have support from his manager on the matter:
“I trust Antoan’s judgment on this matter and I know that Antoan was not out of control at all and that anything said to suggest he was is totally inappropriate. He instigated no part of it.”
-Gabe Kapler on the sacking of Antoan Richardson pic.twitter.com/zoKhmJrrgv
— KNBR (@KNBR) April 13, 2022
More will follow, presumably from Shildt, the Padres and probably Major League Baseball.