Nolan Arenado wasn't supposed to be on the field, so Bud Black waved him off it
The Rockies' Nolan Arenado has four Gold Glove Awards, so why was manager Bud Black telling him to get off the field during Monday night's 3-0 victory over the Braves?
Turns out he wasn't supposed to be in the game.
Arenado was not expected to play because he had suffered a bone bruise when hit by a pitch Sunday in Miami. But Black said Arenado told him early in Monday's game, Hey, I think I can play. In for shortstop Trevor Story as a pinch-hitter, Arenado popped out with one out against the Braves' Julio Teheran, in a solid at-bat, in what at the time was a scoreless game.
After the inning, Black was informing plate umpire Jerry Layne that he wanted
"He [Layne] goes, 'Well, why is Arenado out there at third base?'" Black said.
There was Arenado, warming up for the eighth, unauthorized.
"That doesn't happen very often with that type of player," Black said. "'Hey, I don't want you to play. Get off the field.' That's like a Little Leaguer that goes out. 'Yo, Johnny, come on. That's Billy's position.'"
A quick-healer, Arenado was back in the starting lineup for Tuesday night's second game of four against the Braves. The decision was made when Black saw Arenado in the clubhouse hallway, with a bat in his hand, his batting gloves on, having finished a session in the batting cage.
"I said, 'Hi Nolan, how you doing?' Black recalled.
"He said, 'I'm good to go.' We passed each other in the hall and that was it."
