Carlos Martinez Responds to Ronald Acuña's Home Run Trot and He Doesn't Sound Happy

In the latest edition of MLB pitchers being overtly and unreasonably sensitive, we have Carlos Martinez being upset with Ronald Acuña's home run trot.

After Acuña demolished a Martinez pitch for a two-run home run in the ninth inning to bring the Atlanta Braves within two runs of tying the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLDS, Acuña did a little shuffle-step at third base, and Martinez was not happy.

Carlos Martínez on Ronald Acuña Jr.'s shuffle-step at third base during his home run trot: “I simply want him to respect the game and respect me as a veteran player. That’s it. Just play the game.”
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) October 4, 2019

Here's the video of the home run and the ensuing shuffle-step, which you can see at about the 20-second mark. Is it really that big of a deal?

In his first three playoff games at SunTrust Park, Ronald Acuña Jr. has four hits, two walks and two home runs.

(via @Braves) pic.twitter.com/EABadSHe5Q
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) October 4, 2019

You know what's a pretty good way to avoid home run trots? Keeping the ball in the park.

The Cardinals weren't thrilled by how Ronald Acuña Jr. rounded the bases on his 9th inning homer, enough that Yadier Molina went to the mound to calm Carlos Martinez down afterwards.

Postgame, Martinez said: "I wanted him to respect the game & respect me as a veteran player."
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) October 4, 2019

It's more than understandable that Martinez's emotions would be running high after giving up a home run in such an important game. Even worse, Martinez wasn't able to compose himself in time and grooved another pitch to Freddie Freeman two batters later, who promptly hit a solo shot to bring the Braves within one run of tying the game up.

However, if he's allowed to stomp off the mound and yell after striking someone out, and Yadier Molina can fist pump and go wild after gunning down a baserunner in the first, then batters should be allowed to celebrate their home runs with some flair. What's so hard about putting your head down and letting the batter run around the bases?

Again, these unwritten rules of baseball are outdated at this point, and Martinez's comments are the latest example of just how sensitive some pitchers are in respect to when they fail on the mound.

At least Martinez didn't screw up the entire game. He was able to recover from those two miscues and close the game out for the Cards, who took a 1-0 lead against the Braves in the NLDS on the road.