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Cubs' Willson Contreras gets plunked after bat flip, White Sox pitcher suspended

In the illustrious history of bat flips and subsequent hurt feelings, it doesn’t get much higher than what went down between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox in their crosstown game on Friday.

Up 1-0 in the third inning, Cubs catcher Willson Contreras launched a three-run homer. He followed it up with an even more lofty bat flip, as you can see in the video above. Statcast measured the home run at 377 feet with a peak height of 74 feet. Unfortunately, it did not also track the bat.

The White Sox clearly did not appreciate that level of celebration, as this happened two at-bats later:

White Sox pitcher Jimmy Cordero was suspended three games for his response, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin first reported Saturday. Manager Rick Renteria was hit with a one-game suspension, adds MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

Contreras found a much better way to respond to Cordero’s volley, taking a position player deep in the ninth inning for his second homer of the game. The Cubs ended up winning 10-0.

After the game, Cubs manager David Ross said he was unhappy with Conteras’ plunking.

He said the bat flip was never about showing up the White Sox, but rather looking for an emotional lift as the Cubs broke out from their own offensive slump. The Cubs had scored 1.4 runs per game in their previous seven games, with only three in their last three games.

As for Contreras, he admitted he didn’t really mean to toss his bat to the level of the upper decks, but he also wasn’t exactly contrite about hurting the feelings of the White Sox:

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