Humiliated by the American hitters, the young pitcher Mitch Bratt, 19, was treated to a good speech from manager Ernie Whitt, who tried to console him before withdrawing him from the meeting on Monday evening at Chase Field.
“He told me to have fun and that it was still a constructive experience, summarized Bratt, regarding the comments made by the Canada coach, following the 12-1 loss for the Canadian team. It’s always supposed to be fun to play baseball. That’s what he told me.”
“I put him in a difficult situation, I’m going to take the blame for that,” commented Whitt at a press conference. It’s going to be okay. It was an all-star team on the other side.”
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For the moment, Bratt cannot hide his deep disappointment, he who was credited with six earned runs in one third of an inning. He gave up three hits and three walks.
“I’m very disappointed in myself, I had to throw more catches and trust my different shots,” he said. I didn’t attack the hitters like I can.”