After the Atlanta Braves doubled off Bryce Harper thanks to an amazing Michael Harris II catch to end Game 2, shortstop Orlando Arcia was heard celebrating in the locker room and seemingly mocking the Phillies star. That moment wasn't necessarily off the record, but did land in a notorious grey area in terms of clubhouse reporting.
Arcia's comment occurred during media availability, but it also wasn't mentioned directly to a reporter or group of reporters. On the surface, that shouldn't necessarily matter, and Arcia should've known better than to mock one of the best players in baseball around the media. However, there's an unwritten rule with these sorts of things, and Arcia's teammates have since suggested his actions never should have been reported in the first place.
"The clubhouse is a sanctuary and I think when things like [Arcia's comments] get out, it doesn't make people want to talk to the media at all. It affects people that have been great to us all year and it is what it is," Travis d'Arnaud said.
Arcia also opened up via an interpreter, saying Harper wasn't supposed to hear his comment.
Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman comes to Orlando Arcia's defense
All-Star pitcher Kevin Gausman gave his opinion on the subject, referencing a clubhouse code between media and players.
Gausman and MLB players want the freedom to say and do what they want without it ending up in the paper. That is, of course, unless the players say it directly to the media. In this case, Arcia was laughing in the background, rather than talking to reporters. It didn't matter.
FanSided's Kevin Henry, who has plenty of clubhouse experience of his own, wrote about this conflict and how it came back to haunt the Braves on Wednesday:
"As a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), I know there is a fragile existence between baseball players and the media. We reporters are in their space, asking them about why they failed to make the right pitch or come through in a clutch situation. Not all questions are asked inside a winning clubhouse and, even if they were, not everything is always reported from what was seen and heard in that space," Henry wrote.
For those of us who don't spend time in baseball clubhouses on a daily basis, this is all new and, seemingly, very confusing. It's a learning experience for all involved, and a breach of trust.
