On Rob Thomson, Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves celebrating against the Phillies

As is often the case on the internet, a conversation that Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson had in regards to players celebrating got boiled down to a one-line quote that in theory will further intensify the rivalry with the Atlanta Braves.

However, while it’s harder to fit full-length quotes onto graphics aimed at getting social media engagement, this line was picked out of a 13:42 conversation. If you listen to the full interview, you’ll likely come away with a different perspective on the quote from the Phillies manager.

First of all, SportsRadio 94 WIP‘s Joe DeCamara was the first to bring up what he deemed to be over-the-line home run celebrations from the Braves Tuesday evening, specifically Ronald Acuña Jr. and Marcell Ozuna.

“Rob — and you know the deal and this includes your own squad — teams celebrate more, players celebrate more demonstratively than they used to,” DeCamara began his question by saying.

“Last night with the Braves, with Acuña and Ozuna, in my opinion, it was too much I thought going around the bases,” DeCamara continued. “It bothered me, I’ll be honest with you. And I’m curious from you as the opposing manager of the Braves yesterday, did it bother you to see the level of celebration that they took it to during the game on the field?”

“Yeah, I’m kinda old school,” Thomson responded. “I like guys to, and I think our guys do a good job of acting like you’ve been there before. That’s [celebrating demonstratively] what a lot of guys in this league do. I’m not necessarily a fan of it, but that’s just the way the game has gone.

“Does it bother me? Eh, you know, I can’t control it, so it is what it is. I certainly try to temper that with our guys. And like I said, I like our guys to act like they’ve been there before.”

Of course, it’s not as though the Phillies don’t celebrate after big moments. After every home run, they point to the bullpen. After almost all hits in 2023, Phillies players do the “Big Balls” celebration made famous in the classic baseball movie “Major League II.” Heck, the most notable moment between the Phillies and Braves during the last 20 years, at least, came when Rhys Hoskins spiked his bat after hitting a go-ahead home run against Spencer Strider in Game 3 of the 2022 NLDS. It’s not as though dramatic celebrations are limited to the Braves.

So in his pregame media availability before Wednesday’s series finale against the Braves, Thomson was asked to clarify his comments.

“I think I said that I’m old school, and I prefer people to act like they’ve been there before,” Thomson said prior to Wednesday evening’s series finale against the Braves.

“That doesn’t mean that our guys don’t celebrate,” Thomson added. “Like Rhys [Hoskins] slamming his bat last year during the playoffs, something like that. Guys get excited, and that has nothing to do with the Atlanta Braves, what Ronald does, or Ozuna. They can do what they want, and I can’t control that. I just mentioned that I prefer people to act like they’ve been there before. I wasn’t trying to start a controversy or anything like that.”

There’s a few things at play here.

First of all, having full context in situations like this matters. Not every somewhat juicy quote can be boiled down to a social media post. Thomson was talking about the way he prefers the game to be played, but there didn’t seem to be any ill will specifically towards Acuña or Ozuna. Thomson’s answer was more of a macro response about how baseball’s so-called unwritten rules play less of a role in today’s game. You may prefer the modernized version of baseball, where players are empowered to show emotion — you would hardly be in the minority on that. But Thomson is entitled to prefer the old version.

At the same time, context again matters, and it feels strange for anyone not to understand why the Braves were so excited Tuesday evening.

Not that you necessarily need to be having a great season to celebrate hitting a home run in the majors, but it’s also worth pointing out that the 2023 Braves are quite literally one of the best offenses in MLB history. Acuña — who has 37 home runs, 65 stolen bases and a 1.001 OPS — is locked in an incredible NL MVP race with Mookie Betts. Ozuna’s career looked like it might be over after he hit .091 in April. Instead, he’s rebounded to hit 34 home runs this season. His 34th came in a stadium that chanted “DUI!”

at him during the 2022 NLDS, a reference to his arrest earlier in the year. Of course he’s going to take joy in hitting a home run at Citizens Bank Park. And above all else, a win last night lowered the magic number for the Braves to two, giving them a chance to clinch the NL East in the same park they were eliminated in last postseason.

The best thing the Phillies — or any team — can do if they don’t like how Acuña and others celebrate is to not allow them to have success, so there won’t be anything to celebrate. That’s been easier said than done in 2023. Perhaps in the postseason the Phillies will be able to outhit the Braves, because that’s likely what it will take to make a deep playoff run. And if they do, you can bet the Phillies will have some celebrations of their own. That’s how baseball works in 2023.

However you feel about players celebrating, don’t expect the Phillies to throw at any Braves players Wednesday night.

“I think it’s a different game now,” Thomson said. “I think that most players, like myself, respect the other players so much that they understand that they can ruin somebody’s career.”

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