Thanks, Tom. Now, since we got that one out of the way, let’s examine why there’s no crying in baseball. There are a few reasons. 1) Your leather glove gets all wet. 2) The infield dirt sticks to your face and makes you look like an extra from Mad Max when you finally get your moment on the Jumbo-Tron. 3) People hate you. We’re mostly focusing today on #3 because New York Yankees top prospect Jorge Mateo reportedly began voicing his displeasure at not being bumped up from Single A to Double A to the front office. What happened? Dude (allegedly) got suspended.
Via Fox Sports:
“The New York Yankees have suspended top prospect Jorge Mateo for two weeks, costing him the opportunity to play in the Futures Game on Sunday in San Diego.
But the real story is the possible reason for the discipline — a throwback to the old-school, no-nonsense days of George Steinbrenner. According to the New York Post, the Yankees’ decision could have stemmed from Mateo recently voicing his displeasure about not being promoted to Double-A Trenton.
Mateo, 21, is hitting .266/.323/.396 with five homers, 34 RBI, 26 stolen bases in 76 games for Single-A Tampa this season. He plays primarily shortstop but also has gotten some playing time at second base.”
Bet you’re crying now, huh, Jorge? Listen, I’m a Yankees fan. And I actually think this kid has a future both in the franchise as well as the MLB as a whole. But come on. Stay in your lane. Sure, I respect a kid lobbying for his shot as much as the next guy, but don’t use your disappointment as an opportunity to flex your mouth muscles. And yes, it’s not confirmed that he got in trouble for complaining, but I don’t see any other explanation being given. Maybe he did something else like hit the strip club with a few of the older guys or bang one of the beer girls. Either way, the kid’s out for the Futures Game, and that really sucks.