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- The Rangers lost on a walk-off home run to the Yankees on Sunday
- Manager Chris Woodward falsely said that the homer only left because of the field’s short dimensions, and he’s getting rightfully bashed
- Read more MLB news here
The Texas Rangers lost a heartbreaker in the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.
New York second baseman Gleyber Torres broke the Rangers’ backs with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The blast gave the Yankees a 2-1 win, with Torres hitting the griddy as he rounded the bases in celebration.
The crushing defeat sent the Rangers home with a sour taste in their mouths, and it appears manager Chris Woodward was a little salty after the game.
When asked about the walk-off bomb, Woodward blamed the Yankees’ “Little League Ballpark” rather than accept the loss with dignity.
Take a listen.
"That's an easy out in 99% of ballparks… He just happened to hit it in a Little League ballpark." -Rangers manager Chris Woodward on Gleyber Torres' walk-off home run
Gleyber's 369-foot shot that traveled at 106.5 MPH would have been a home run at 26 of 30 MLB parks pic.twitter.com/obrxaZ2Vgj
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 8, 2022
“That’s an easy out in 99% of ballparks… He just happened to hit it in a Little League ballpark to right field.”
Now, Yankee Stadium has been criticized in the past for its short dimensions in the right field porch. It’s only 314 down the line and 385 in the right-center gap, making it much smaller than the majority of parks in Major League Baseball.
But Woodward is off here.
When looking further, Gleyber’s 370-foot blast would’ve left 26 of the 30 MLB parks. The manager is rightfully getting bashed for the false narrative.
Yankees fans eviscerate Chris Woodward for Little League Ballpark comments
It was shorter than that 😂
— Ben N (@BenJNissim) May 8, 2022
This is a really really bad look for a Major League manager
— Bryan Smith (@bryansmith7326) May 8, 2022
booooooooooooooooooo woodward booooo https://t.co/SKgU92Gibs
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) May 8, 2022
Can’t believe Rangers manager, Chris Woodward, complained about Gleyber’s walk off being hit in a “little league ballpark”.
Were they hitting in a different ballpark in the Top of the 9th when they didn’t score? I don’t understand.
It also would’ve been a homer in 26 parks 🤷🏻♂️
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) May 8, 2022
In 2020 Chris Woodward cried when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch in a 7 run game
Today he’s mocking Gleyber’s walk off homer that woulda been out in 26/30 ballparks
Get this clown gone
— The Short Porch (@short_porch) May 8, 2022
What an absolute loser. Who the hell let Chris Woodward manage a baseball team anyway? I’d be embarrassed to call this man my leader pic.twitter.com/7M3Tl1ocl8
— Tommy Smokes (@TomScibelli) May 8, 2022
Chris Woodward is a clown for that Gleyber Torres home run comment. That is loser shit.
— Randy Wilkins (@pamsson) May 8, 2022
The answer is likely more out of frustration than anything else. Still, he’s getting slammed seeing as his team is hitting in the same venue, and they could only muster one run.
Making this even more ironic, that one run came on a 355-foot home run from Kole Calhoun which was about 15 feet shorter than the one that Torres hit.
The comment isn’t a great look for a Major League manager. We’ll see if the Rangers can dry the tears with a win in Game 2 of the doubleheader.