Padres Clap Back at Dodgers’ Will Smith for ‘Irrelevant’ Comments

During the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres Saturday, Gavin Stone threw a pitch on the inside that got close to Padres’ hitter Jurickson Profar. Profar initially took offense to the pitch, thinking Stone was trying to hit him, and the benches cleared as tension heated up between the two teams.

After the game, catcher Will Smith called the reaction from Profar “stupid,'”and said Stone wouldn’t have thrown at him since Profar is “irrelevant.”

While Profar admitted on ESPN’s broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball that misunderstood the situation and doesn’t think Stone was throwing at him on purpose looking back at the moment, the Padres certainly took offense to Smith calling Profar “irrelevant.”

Padres manager Mike Shildt and designated hitter Manny Machado were two of the Friars to speak out in defense of Profar after the game.

“He’s got his own opinions about relevancy. He can judge that all he wants. That’s for him to do. I can tell you this … Profar is very relevant to us. He’s a glue guy for us. This guy has 10 years in the big leagues. There’s some relevancy there. Did a nice job tonight with the three-run double. Beyond that, Pro’s a pro and he’s a very big part of the San Diego Padres. He’s very relevant to me. I believe in him completely. He’s very relevant to his teammates. We respect and appreciate him highly.”

— Mike Shildt, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Machado was a little angrier at Smith in his comments:

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to have to check the dictionary on that, because he’s been leading this team big-time. Numbers speak for themselves. Every time he comes out here and steps on the field, he makes a big impact on the game. At the end of the day, the boy got 10 years in the league. There’s only a handful of baseball players in all of baseball that have accomplished that goal, so got to put a little respect on his name … I think that’s what this game is losing. They are losing respect for some of these guys who have been doing this for a very long time.”

— Manny Machado, via Acee.

Profar has certainly been relevant for the Padres this season. He’s hit .321 on the year with two home runs and 13 RBIs so. That includes the game-winning, three-run double he hit on Sunday to give the Padres a 6-3 win and overall series win against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

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