"Harsher for pimping a single than being drunk behind the wheel btw" - Barstool Phill reminds benched star Marcell Ozuna of past legal woes

Despite being one of the hottest hitters right now, Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves has found himself in hot water after his manager took issue with a recent play.

During the fourth inning of a game between the Braves and the Diamondbacks in Arizona on June 4, Marcell Ozuna hit a bomb deep to center field off of pitcher Zac Gallen. As Ozuna stood on the first base line admiring his would-be home run, the ball slammed off the outfield wall at Chase Field.

Ozuna did not hustle and in turn, only made it to first base on the play. After the appearance, Ozuna was taken out of the game, with Braves manager Brian Snitker later acknowledging that the outfielder was benched for not hustling on the basepath.

"Brian Snitker confirms that Marcell Ozuna was benched today because he didn’t hustle, per @BNightengale. This comes while Ozuna is one of baseball’s hottest hitters, sporting a 1.003 OPS since the beginning of May" - Talkin' Baseball

In addition to boasting one of the best OPS numbers in the MLB over the course of the last month, Marcell Ozuna's last 20 games have seen the 32-year-old hit .319 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.

While the Atlanta Braves manager's decision has been lauded by fans, it was already evident that many were not keen on Ozuna at all. The Dominican has twice been arrested, with his first in 2021 coming after police witnessed him strangling his wife and throwing her against a wall. His second charge, in August 2022, came after police in Norcross, Georgia determined that Ozuna was heavily intoxicated behind the wheel of his car.

In a not-so-thinly veiled swipe at Ozuna, Barstool Sports personality Meek Phill made reference to the Braves star's shoddy past. According to Phill, Snitker was tougher on Ozuna than the league ever was after his multiple arrests.

"Disciplined him harsher for pimping a single than being drunk behind the wheel btw," Phill tweeted.

Marcell Ozuna incident a stern warning

With the Miami Marlins now just 3.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East, Ozuna's bat may be more important than ever. However, by benching him after his lame effort against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Snitker is sending a strong message. Whether or not Ozuna's other past wrongs will ever be corrected remains to be seen.