Reds and Yankees had great national anthem standoff

The Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees had quite the standoff during the national anthem prior to Thursday’s game.

Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft was determined to avoid being the last to leave the field after the anthem when two members of the Yankees, Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet, refused to do the same. The Reds wound up “winning” when Yankee manager Aaron Boone intervened by calling Hamilton and Poteet back to the dugout.

We had ourselves a MAJOR Anthem stand-off to start the day in New York pic.twitter.com/615cLeaeLs

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 4, 2024

Ashcraft got a hero’s welcome in the Cincinnati dugout thanks to his perceived victory. Hamilton and Poteet, both on the injured list, got their share of congratulations as well. After all, their defeat was not necessarily their choice.

The Reds seem to get involved in these things a lot. They had already won the first two games of the series in New York, so they had reason to be feeling a bit bold.