A Miami Marlins rookie infielder broke down in tears on the field Tuesday night after making three errors in a three-inning span.
Second baseman Ronny Simon was visibly in tears in the fourth inning after a series of defensive lapses that allowed the San Diego Padres to rally from 6-0 down against the Marlins at Petco Park in San Diego, Ca. In the second inning, Simon made a wild throw to the plate that allowed a second run to score on a play. He then made two errors in the fourth, one on a booted grounder and another on a wild throw.
At one point, it looked like Simon was set to be charged with four errors, as he was hit with one on a third inning grounder. However, that was later changed to a hit.
Simon was so shaken up in the fourth that Marlins manager Clayton McCullough called a meeting on the mound to try to encourage the second baseman, who was visibly crying on the field.
Querido hermano Ronny Simón, sé que eres un hombre íntegro que muestra su pasión por el juego y el respeto al asumir tus responsabilidades. Eso dice mucho de ti y del amor que le tienes a tu trabajo. Quiero recordarte que esto forma parte del juego y que a cualquiera le puede… pic.twitter.com/8sJiOV5EXO
— Mike Rodriguez (@mikedeportes) May 28, 2025
Simon was still distraught after the inning, and ran straight into the clubhouse once the side was retired. The Marlins opted to pull him from the game at that point, likely for his own good as much as theirs.
Here's Ronny Simon running back to the dugout, going straight into the clubhouse and has a couple of teammates/coaches chasing him down.#Marlins pic.twitter.com/dL1HAbqr5o
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) May 28, 2025
Marlins pitcher Max Meyer admitted the team had tried to cheer Simon up during the mound meeting.
“I just talked to him,” Meyer said, via Jason Foster of MLB.com. “I said, ‘I know you’re not trying to do any of that behind me. Keep your head up, and I obviously know you always want to have my back, and I’m going to try to get yours.’ Stuff like that’s going to happen. It’s baseball at the end of the day, and I’m not going to hold anything behind him.”
The 25-year-old Simon made his MLB debut on April 21. Since then, he has hit a modest .234 while splitting time between second base and the outfield.
The Marlins went on to lose the game 8-6 despite jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning.
Baseball is a difficult game, and Simon is not the first player to be shaken by on-field struggles. It remains to be seen if and when the Marlins plan to throw him out there again.
