World Series Game 6: Alex Bregman apologizes for carrying his bat to first base after home run

Alex Bregman unleashed his swagger in the last three games of the World Series against the Washington Nationals — and now he’s apologizing after drawing the ire of two ex-MLB stars.

Bregman homered in the first inning of Game 6 against the Nats to give the Astros a 2-1 lead in a possible World Series-clincher, which the Nats went on to win 7-2.

The problem? He carried his bat all the way with him to first base, which the unwritten rules will tell you is a big no-no.

Here’s a slowed-down version of Bregman trying to hand his bat to Astros first-base coach Don Kelly, which he actually botched:

After the game, Bregman apologized for the moment, telling reporters, including Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet:

That’s polite of him, but it’s also a sharp contrast to the message we’ve been hearing in MLB ads all October. Anybody watching postseason baseball has seen the “We Play Loud” commercial about 10,000 times already. Bregman is one its stars. He’s also one of the most interesting young players in the game — the possible AL MVP and always sharp with a clever quip.

As much as MLB is trying to get fans (and even some players) to ditch some of the old-school unwritten rules mentality that would get Bregman thrown at in his next at-bat (he wasn’t), it’s obvious some long-time baseball people are clinging to tradition.

In this case, Bregman was called out specifically by two players who have had their own big moments in October — ex-Red Sox and Indians star Mike Napoli and ex-Giants and Nationals slugger Michael Morse.

Morse, it’s worth noting, had his career ended after he sustained a concussion during the Bryce Harper-Hunter Strickland a few years back between the Nats and Giants, who Morse played for at that point. That brawl was because Harper admired an October homer a little too long for Strickland’s liking and Harper paid for it a couple of years later.

Bregman might not get his unwritten-rules punishment for this right away, not in the World Series, but it might come one day.

As for an immediate response, Nats star Juan Soto showed himself to be a master of the retort. He homered in the fifth inning to give the Nats a 3-2 lead. It was a monster shot. And he carried his bat to first base with him — just like Bregman.

After the game, Soto was asked about his bat-carrying rationale. He said on MLB Network that he saw Bregman do it and, "I just thought it was pretty cool. I wanted to do it.”

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Mike Oz is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @mikeoz

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