Giants, Padres coaches move past discord, confront racism concern

By FYH News Team

Published on April 13, 2022

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All was well Wednesday morning at Oracle Park, where Giants first-base coach Antoan Richardson and Padres coach Mike Shildt patched things up after a flareup on the field the night before.

Richardson, who was ejected, told reporters after the game that Shildt had yelled, “You need to control that m— f—” at manager Gabe Kapler, referring to Richardson and he added, “I think his words were disproportionately unwarranted and reeked undertones of racism when he referred to me as ‘that m— f—’ as if to be controlled or a piece of property or enslaved.”

Wednesday morning, the two men met on the field and talked things out, then they came back later and spoke to the media together. Richardson’s first point of emphasis was to say he does not believe Shildt is a racist.

“In no way do I believe Shildty is a racist,” he said, noting that Shildt is a longtime supporter of the Black community. “What I was trying to do is just bring awareness to how words impact impact certain communities, even though they might not have ill intent. It’s just helping us to be more aware of of what those things mean.”

Shildt, the former Cardinals manager, said he was happy to have cleared the air with Richardson and was equally glad that Richardson made it clear he’s not a racist, saying he was sorry his words had been misinterpreted.

“I don’t know Antoan’s heritage,” Shildt said of the Bahamas-born Richardson. “I can’t walk in his shoes. I can only have empathy and love, which I do have and I’ve always had. I used inappropriate language, which is my biggest issue last night and I apologize for that and I’m sensitive to Antoan’s rightful understanding and experiences of what he feels is the oppression that takes place in this world. And unfortunately, there’s still an undercurrent of that that is real to people.”

The detente was welcome news to Kapler. “I think everything that needed to be said there was perfect and probably needs to be amplified,” he said.

The previous night’s exchange in front of the Giants’ dugout took place during a game in which tensions were mounting, with San Francisco jumping out to a big league and the Padres taking issue with some “unwritten rules” violations: Steven Duggar’s stolen base in the second occurred before the flap and there was some “chirping” at first base and in the dugout.

“Emotions were riding high,” Shildt said, saying he was looking for some familiar faces to help defuse the situation but failed. “I could have handled it differently with my verbiage.”

Kapler said he remains puzzled by Richardson’s ejection and he had hoped to hear back from the league on the matter. It did create a moment of major-league history, however, as Alyssa Nakken took his place coaching first base, becoming the first woman on the field in MLB.

The Giants ignored baseball etiquette again in the sixth, when Mauricio Dubón bunted for a hit with a nine-run lead. Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer believed the sign for the bunt came from the dugout; Giants sources said that was not the case. However, none of the Giants are apologetic about the perceived no-nos — and as Kapler noted, Dubón is not an everyday player and after being up and down much of last year, he is always fighting for a roster spot.

“He needs to use every tool at his disposal to be successful to stick at the major-league level, to demonstrate his value, to hone his craft,” Kapler said. “That doesn’t ebb and flow with the score.”

The Giants clearly plan to disregard longstanding baseball tradition any time they have a sizable lead; that might change in the final game a of series, Kapler said — or it might not, depending on who their opponent plays next, or any of a number of other factors. “You can get pretty in the weeds with that stuff,” he said of finding any possible advantage.

What it boils down to, Kapler said, is being consistent every day.

“Everybody is competing on a major-league baseball field,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense to have one part of the field stop competing and the other part of the field keep competing. I can’t think of a reason why that makes sense. The pitcher on the mound is trying to get you out – the batter at the plate stops competing with all of the tools at his disposal? I’ve never quite understood it. I don’t understand it now. And I don’t think that the best way to play this game is to take away any of your tools.”

Susan Slusser covers The Giants for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser

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