Little did Aaron Boone know that when he inserted young Yankees reliever Greg Weissert into a 6-1 game to soak up the late innings that he was igniting a monster.
Apparently, Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. believes he’s so important that the most erratic reliever on the roster would take the blowout loss as a prime opportunity to drill him.
Never mind the fact that Weissert’s MLB debut was so wild last summer that it involved multiple hit batters and crescendoed with Aaron Judge doing Captain things and blocking the camera so Weissert wouldn’t feel bad.
No, no. Clearly, this two-out HBP was on purpose. Weissert, whose breaking ball often spins all the way around the plate (it moves like crazy), plunked Vladdy, and it was on.
At least, it was until Anthony Rizzo intervened.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stares down Greg Weissert after getting hit by a pitch and Anthony Rizzo gets involved pic.twitter.com/08zU6IO8IP
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 22, 2023
Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. thinks Yankees reliever Greg Weissert drilled him on purpose
Ultimately, the Yankees got out of this self-imposed jam in an otherwise sleepy game thanks to some slick defense, and Guerrero Jr., occupying the DH role on Friday for the half-day off, will have plenty of time to reflect on this perceived slight before the first pitch tomorrow.
That’s when things could really escalate.
After all, the pitching probables will be Gerrit Cole and Alek Manoah, and this offseason, one called the other the “biggest cheater in baseball”. The person who made those comments also antagonized Cole for not stepping further out of the dugout during a near brawl last year and meeting him on the field.
Expect one whistled by a Yankees player’s ear tomorrow, whether it’s merited or not. After all, Manoah is certainly self-important, too. He also leads the league in walks.
