Yankees fans didn’t have much to be happy about this weekend, with the Tampa Bay Rays coming into town and sweeping a three-game series. New York woke up Monday morning with the worst record in the American League (5-10).
But that’s no excuse for the ugly scene which played out Friday at Yankee Stadium. It came in the eighth inning of New York’s 8-2 loss, when fans started throwing baseballs onto the field.
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Of course, the Rays couldn’t let the disturbing scene pass without taking a shot or two at the Yankees faithful. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Rays manager Kevin Cash wasn’t worried about his players getting hurt: “I didn’t see that many good arms, so I wasn’t overly concerned.”
Tampa Bay outfielder Brett Phillips said he “had no idea what was going on. I (only) played one other game in Yankee Stadium before when I was with Kansas City. I didn’t know if that was like a ritual or something, when you’re losing by six runs you throw baseballs at the opposing team. I didn’t know if that’s what they do around here.”
But that wasn’t all from Phillips, who jabbed the Yankees masses on social media, posting a video of him being showered by F-bombs with the caption, “Stay classy Yankee Fans.”
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Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough called the scene a “fiasco.”
“We were kind of wondering, ‘What the heck was going on.’ I’ve never seen anything like it. … They’re coming from all different angles so you just didn’t know where they’re coming from.”
The Rays won’t have to wait too long to get another look at Yankees fans. Tampa Bay returns to the Bronx for a four-game series beginning May 31.
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