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Fans of the Chicago White Sox haven’t had a ton to root for since the franchise won the World Series in 2005, as the team has only managed to make it to the playoffs three times since then (all of which have ended with a one-and-done loss in the first round).
Unfortunately, this year hasn’t been an exception, as the White Sox are sporting a 14-28 record as of this writing and are currently 9.5 games back of the Twins while occupying the fourth spot in the AL Central.
The team added yet another tally to the wrong column with a 4-3 loss to the Astros on Sunday, and fans in attendance at Guaranteed Rate Field weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure with the team’s performance.
In the fifth inning, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson found himself on the receiving end of some boos after he declined to try to make it to second base when Houston catcher Martín Maldonado had trouble handling a pitch.
Anderson was seen shaking his head after the play in question and caused a bit of a stir while chatting with former teammate José Abreu, as fans were convinced he told the Astros first baseman “I hate this place” after getting jeered by the hometown crowd.
Did Tim Anderson just say, “I hate this place”? pic.twitter.com/rmXz6Avo1f
— Matt Crawford (@Mattheius2783) May 14, 2023
Anderson is no stranger to letting opposing fans know how he feels about their feedback, but the supposed decision to diss the people supporting the team he plays for obviously didn’t sit very well with many members of the Chicago fanbase.
However, Anderson had some defenders who pointed out it looked like he was actually complaining about the pitch clock, which has been a fairly welcome change for Major League Baseball but one that plenty of people (including players) are still getting used to.
Everyone’s conveniently ignoring there’s a fifth word he says here.
“I hate this pitch clock” is far more plausible. https://t.co/X7gITOKx0R
— Jordan Lazowski (@jlazowski14) May 14, 2023
White Sox beat reporter Chuck Garfien implied he spoke to Anderson after the game to confirm that was indeed the case.
Can confirm that Tim Anderson was talking to Jose Abreu about the pitch clock at first base on Sunday, not what has been falsely speculated and reported.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) May 15, 2023
I guess White Sox fans are going to have to wait for another excuse to break out their torches and pitchforks—but based on how they’ve fared this season, it’ll probably come sooner rather than later.