Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan was accused of pulling a classless maneuver after a Pittsburgh Pirates player achieved a milestone during Wednesday night’s game.
Pirates infielder Cam Devanney was called up to the majors last Friday. He went 0-for-4 in his MLB debut on Tuesday but recorded his first big-league hit during the bottom of the second inning on Wednesday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa.
With a runner on first and two outs, Devanney hit a weak line drive into left field that fell in safely for a hit. Pirates players immediately began calling for the ball from the dugout so they could get it for Devanney to keep.
Cam Devanney with his first career hit in MLB!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/SL7waSIfw5
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) September 3, 2025
What happened next was, at the very least, noteworthy.
Sheehan got the ball back and could be seen calling for a new ball from the umpire. It seemed like he was going to make sure the ball from Devanney’s first hit made it to Pittsburgh’s dugout, but he appeared to switch the two balls, keep Devanney’s ball and throw the new ball toward the dugout.
why though pic.twitter.com/qGuEuByC3Z
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) September 3, 2025
Fans immediately began accusing Sheehan of keeping Devanney’s first hit ball intentionally. The big question is why Sheehan would do that, unless he was aggravated over giving up a hit and pulled the move out of spite.
According to Dodgers reporter Kristen Watson, Sheehan claimed the situation was a misunderstanding and that he planned to apologize to Devanney. The right-hander said he did not know the Pirates were calling for the ball.
#Dodgers Emmet Sheehan said it was not intentional, he didn’t realize that the ball was being called for and shared he would personally apologize to Cam Devanney for the misunderstanding. https://t.co/HAjxmOEw1g
— Kirsten Watson (@kirsten_watson) September 4, 2025
The reason Sheehan’s explanation makes little sense is that he is the one who called for a new ball. He then kept the ball that had been hit after calling for a new one. It is possible that Sheehan either just mixed the two balls up or changed his mind and decided he liked the previous ball better than the new one and discarded the new one instead.
Either Sheehan got caught doing something spiteful, or a simple misunderstanding turned into a very bad look for him.
