Yankees, Rays have Twitter spat over Gary Sanchez homer
The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays had it out on Twitter in a brief spat over a Gary Sanchez home run during New York’s 13-5 shellacking of the Baltimore Orioles Thursday.
It all started when the Yankees sarcastically referenced a comment made earlier this season by Rays first baseman Logan Morrison about Sanchez’s home run-hitting prowess.
“Gary Sanchez isn’t a home run hitter.” pic.twitter.com/aoBh4SYD8J
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 15, 2017
The Rays noticed, and called out the Yankees for being “petty” with the tweet.
Imagine having the ability to reach 2.7 million people and using it to be this petty. https://t.co/7W44zbwezM
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 15, 2017
The Yankees responded in kind — and arguably upped the ante regarding the pettiness accusation — by showcasing all four Yankees round-trippers in Thursday’s rout.
Dear 2.72 million followers,
Please enjoy this video of the 4 HR hit by your team tonight.
Sincerely, Yankees Twitter pic.twitter.com/xEdheH6TVY
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 15, 2017
The source of the beef stems from Morrison criticizing Major League Baseball for inviting Sanchez to participate in the Home Run Derby during the 2017 All-Star Game festivities at Marlins Park.
“Gary shouldn’t be there,” Morrison said. “Gary’s a great player, but he shouldn’t be in the Home Run Derby.”
Morrison arguably was expressing some semblance of sour grapes, as he was not invited to the Home Run Derby.
“I remember when I had 14 home runs,” Morrison said, who had 24 homers at the time.. “That was a month and a half ago.”
Sanchez responded to Morrison’s barbs, saying, “It’s not my fault he didn’t get selected. What can I say? They gave me a call, gave me an invitation to participate.”
For what it’s worth, Sanchez has been mashing the ball since the All-Star Break, bashing 17 home runs. He now has 31 long balls this season. Morrison, meanwhile, has 36 homers on the season, meaning he’s hit 12 homers since the All-Star Break.