Mar 14, 2021; Dunedin, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah (75) looks on during their game against the New York Yankees at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Alek Manoah has made a new enemy just one start into the 2023 season.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo called out the Toronto Blue Jays ace Manoah during an appearance this week on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. Verdugo expressed displeasure with Manoah’s fiery displays of emotion on the mound.
“I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way,” said Verdugo, per NBC Boston. “100 percent I think he does. You can find videos, footage of him in Triple-A going like this (gesturing) to hitters, last year, telling [Red Sox players], ‘Go sit,’ s— like that, and looking right at them.
“So it’s s— like that just pisses me off,” Verdugo continued. “It’s not the way it should be played. It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not f—ing disrespecting another player who is — at the end of the day we’re just trying to compete, that’s it.”
Verdugo is referencing the episode from last season where Manoah cursed out two Red Sox players after striking them out back to back (you can see that video here).
On Tuesday, Manoah returned fire at Verdugo in an interview with Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.
“Coming from him? I don’t give a s–t,” said Manoah. “My job is to pitch and get guys out.”
Manoah, who was an All-Star last season for the Blue Jays and finished third in AL Cy Young voting, thrives off beef. He has already feuded with other prominent AL East division rivals as well.
As for Verdugo, Manoah probably thinks that the criticism is pretty ironic too. In addition to going viral for some celebratory antics of his own when he was on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Verdugo did a bit of hot-dogging last season after homering off … none other than Manoah.
you can cut the tension with a knife pic.twitter.com/bej7s3TmHq
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 30, 2022
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