Pablo Sandoval benched for using Instagram during game
Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval is out of the lineup for Thursday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves, and that is likely a direct result of his decision to go on social media during Boston’s game the previous night.
In the seventh inning of the Braves-Red Sox game on Wednesday night, Barstool Sports blogger Jared Carrabis noticed that someone had “liked” a couple of photos from Sandoval’s account.
Not to blow up the dude's spot, but uh…is Pablo Sandoval on Instagram during the game? pic.twitter.com/q8X4HoFDOT
— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 18, 2015
Pablo admitted on Thursday that it was him, confessing that he grabbed his phone during a bathroom break in the seventh inning.
“I know I f— up,” the 28-year-old said, per Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. “I made a mistake, I learned from that. I’m a human being, I made a mistake, so I apologize to my teammates, to the team, to the organization, the fans support.
“This is a thing that I pushed the [‘like’] button at the wrong time. I hit a ‘like.’ I was in the bathroom, I pushed it at the wrong time. … I just grabbed my phone, and checked it.”
While we commend Sandoval for owning up to it and not using the popular “my account was hacked” excuse, this is a horrible look for a struggling Red Sox team. Boston has lost eight of its last nine and is nine games out of first in the AL East.
Believe it or not, there have been other professional athletes who were caught going on social media in the middle of games. Apparently these kids need to be watched more closely by their teachers.
