As closer Liam Hendriks walked toward the home dugout following his save, Christenson waited for him with his arm locked upward. Hendriks forcibly moved the coach’s arm down as he passed before Christenson again struck the position on his way off the field.
Christenson told San Francisco Chronicle beat reporter Susan Slusser that general manager David Forst called him after the game to ask about the gesture. Christenson said he understood his motion “looks terrible.”
“Obviously I wasn’t doing that intentionally,” Christenson told Slusser. “I just blacked out, my mind wasn’t there and I spaced out. I’m sure it looks terrible. I did it but it was not intentional. I don’t know what more to say.”
Hendriks is known to celebrate with teammates following saves by using a chop handshake, but what Christenson did does not align with the mechanics of the gesture.
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Christenson, in his third season as Oakland’s bench coach, was considered a candidate for several vacant managerial positions this past offseason.
The A’s released a statement condemning his gesture late Thursday night.
“We are deeply sorry this happened on our playing field,” the team wrote.
Hendriks, meanwhile, reached out to Slusser to offer his perspective.
