Cubs” Maddon fires back at Hurdle for criticizing Baez

CHICAGO (AP) Cubs manager Joe Maddon fired back at Pittsburgh Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle for criticizing Chicago star Javier Baez’s bat flip on a popup.

Maddon says he was ”surprised” and didn’t ”really understand” why Hurdle criticized Baez. He warned against being ”hypercritical” because ”you’re pretty much defining yourself.”

Maddon spoke prior to Friday’s game against Atlanta.

Baez homered twice for the second straight day in Chicago’s victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. But he also flipped his bat high into the air on a popup in the seventh.

Baez acknowledged after the win it was a mistake and that a teammate talked to him about the display.

Hurdle questioned Baez’s ”respect for the game” on Thursday, and the flashy star brushed off those comments after the game.

—

More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball