"He's 23," Collins said. "He got caught up in the moment, I guess."
Though Syndergaard's first-pitch fastball did not hit Escobar, its context transformed it into a different animal. A day earlier, when asked about Escobar's success swinging at the first pitch of ballgames, Syndergaard grinned that he had "a few tricks up my sleeve." Afterward, Syndergaard admitted that he and catcher Travis d'Arnaud explicitly discussed buzzing Escobar with a first-pitch fastball.
Further inflaming the situation were the postgame comments of Escobar and other Royals players, who called Syndergaard's pitch dangerous and unprofessional and so many other things.