A national anthem standoff nearly caused a delay before the start of Thursday’s Fourth of July match between the Yankees and Reds in The Bronx. The standoff ensued when two pitchers from each team continued to stand at attention long after the anthem had concluded.

 

 

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On the first-base line, Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet, both on the Yankees' injured list, remained steadfast, while Cincinnati pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers held their ground on the third-base line, vying to be the last ones to pay respects.

 

Despite the Yankees taking the field for the top of the first and Marcus Stroman beginning his warm-up, all four players persisted on the field until home-plate umpire Alan Porter signaled for both sides to exit. Third-base umpire Jim Wolf also engaged with the groups before Yankees' manager Aaron Boone intervened and instructed his players to leave the field. Boone later remarked that the start of the game was not delayed by the incident, stating, “It had the potential to be. I think they were right up against it.”

 

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Interestingly, Porter briefly departed the field during the standoff to retrieve equipment from the umpire’s locker room.

 

Cody Poteet downplayed the standoff, mentioning that it was not pre-planned and was partly a result of the extended pregame ceremonies. “There wasn’t much thought to it. It wasn’t a normal anthem, since they had the color guard, so we were standing there a little extra anyway. We noticed they were still standing, so we wanted to see who could outlast each other. We took it all the way to the last bit, close to the game starting. Just a little fun,” said Poteet.

 

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Ultimately, Ashcraft emerged as the last player standing, with Poteet commenting, “It’s something that happens naturally, I guess. It’s a little competition within the game. It’s probably the first one I’ve been a part of.”

 

In the end, what started as an odd spectacle prior to the game did not detract from the gameplay but rather added a peculiar twist to the Fourth of July matchup.

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