Baseball
Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage says his family has been subjected to abuse since his impressive postseason debut last weekend against the New York Yankees.
Scheduled to start Game 2 against Mariners on Monday
The Canadian Press
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Trey Yesavage has called out baseball fans who have been subjecting his family and girlfriend to abuse during Major League Baseball’s post-season.
Yesavage opened a news conference on Sunday afternoon with a prepared statement to address the attacks on his loved ones. The rookie will be the Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher for Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Monday against the Seattle Mariners.
“Living in this world where there’s so many different opinions and feelings which results in a lot of hate, it’s sad to see that people close to me are being attacked for my performances on the field,” said Yesavage. “These people have done nothing to warrant negativity for my actions, whether that’s my parents, my brothers, my girlfriend, family. It’s just really sad.”
Yesavage struck out 11 over 5 1/3 shutout innings on Oct. 5 as Toronto beat the New York Yankees 13-7 in Game 2 of the AL Division Series. The Blue Jays went on to eliminate New York from the playoffs.
The 22-year-old didn’t get specific about what kind of message his family has been receiving, if it’s come from Yankees fans or sports bettors.
Jays manager unaware before Yesavage told media
“I know I have the platform to address it, so I am,” said Yesavage. “I hope that people can realize that those individuals have nothing to do with what happens on the field or whatnot.
“If you have a problem, I’m a man; I can take whatever opinions anybody has about me or my life.”
Yesavage did not take any followup questions on the matter after his initial statement.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he was unaware that Yesavage’s loved ones had been abused but he was proud of the young pitcher for speaking up.
“I give him a ton of credit for a guy that is 22 and just arrived in the big leagues and understands that he has a really, really good support system that is around him and has a platform to talk about it,” said Schneider during his news conference ahead of Game 1 at Rogers Centre.
“It’s unfortunate that that’s a reality. I think the more that you do it, the more accustomed you get to it. I commend him for saying what he said and for backing up the people that love and support him.”
