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Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader (71) throws during the eighth inning at the Major League Baseball All-star Game, Tuesday, July 17, 2018 in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP Photo
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The American League won the All-Star Game, but Brewers’ Josh Hader stole show with racist, anti-gay tweets

You already know the excuse: He was young

Rhiannon Walker @InstantRHIplay
Topics:
Commentary MLB Milwaukee Brewers Seattle Mariners MLB All-Star Game Josh Hader

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    9:27 AMImagine pitching only a third of an inning, giving up a three-run shot in the top of the eighth inning after your teammates tied the game the inning before, and that wasn’t even the worst part of your evening.

    Well, that’s exactly what happened to Milwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader, who during that same one-third of an inning had his racist and anti-gay tweets recirculate on social media. The tweets were from about seven years ago, when Hader was 17 years old.

    The fact that the Seattle Mariners’ Jean Segura belted the three-run homer off Hader, the National League rallied in the final two innings from three runs down and the American League’s three-run 10th inning secured the team’s 8-6 win all took a back seat to Hader’s vile remarks.

    So after his brief action on the mound, Major League Baseball sent Hader out to reporters to answer for himself. News spread so fast that a fan wearing his jersey took it off, flipped it inside out and wore it like that. Hader’s family also removed the jersey with his name on the back.

    Y’all already know the line: Hader explained he was young — old enough to know he shouldn’t say the N-word, he hates gays or white power, but, hey — and that the person who expressed those views was not the person standing in front of the media.

    After an exciting few days surrounding the league’s 89th All-Star Game, the midseason festivities in Washington, D.C., came to a close with the talk centered on the repugnant views of one of its participants. Karma would have it that Hader had his pitch taken to task by a black player in Chocolate City.

    Rhiannon Walker is an associate editor at The Undefeated. She is a drinker of Sassy Cow Creamery chocolate milk, an owner of an extensive Disney VHS collection, and she might have a heart attack if Frank Ocean doesn't drop his second album.