Rivalry defined by deep ‘tensions’
With the 2021 season just getting started, it’s clear Yankees, Rays still don’t like each other
DUNEDIN, Fla. — It’s a new year and a new season, but the Yankees and Rays never seem to be able to turn the page. Last weekend, the two American League East rivals reignited their feud and this weekend it sounds like there could be another chapter written in bad blood.
“Tensions are high,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said Wednesday. “We’ve gone back and forth with the Rays. We get hit, they get brushed back. If they get hit, we get brushed back. It’s kind of back and forth, but I think the most important thing is just focusing on the gameand let our play do the talking and I think that’s the best outcome for both sides.”
That certainly would be the best outcome, but the fact is that the “back and forth” hasn’t been that balanced and MLBhasnever really put it to rest.
The Rays come into Yankee Stadium Friday night to start a three-game series very aware of the history and ready for whatever will happen.
The Rays had batters hit four times in three games over the weekend — including Austin Meadows being hit twice in one game. Jordan Montgomery hit Meadows high on the shoulder with a fastball in his first at-bat Sunday. Two Yankees were hit in that game and both needed replay to be sure they were grazed by the ball.
The Yankees, however, always cite a 2018 incident for starting this bad blood. Yankees players always seem to go back to a two-yearold memory of Andrew Kittredge throwing a 93-mph fastball behind but near Austin Romine’s head. That was followed by CC Sabathia hitting Jesus Sucre and walking off yelling a profane explanation to the Rays that left no doubt he did it in retaliation.
Since then, 23 Rays batters have been hit by Yankee pitchers. While the Bombers batters have been hit 16 times.
That does not include the misses, like last season when Aroldis Chapman threw a 101-mph fastball that was egregiously close to the head of Mike Brosseau. That incited a near brawl and resulted in a three-game suspension for Chapman (reduced to two games). That was held over until the start of this season. The Rays were furious, but got some karmic justice when Brosseau ended the Yankees season with a game-winning homer off Chapman in the ALDS. The Rays felt MLB did not act quickly or fairly.
“Tensions are high. We’ve gone back and forth with the Rays. We get hit, they get brushed back. If they get hit, we get brushed back.”
— Yankees’ Aaron Judge
“It’s been so grossly mishandled by Major League Baseball last year… and there isn’t any recourse. It’s just carryover,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Sunday’s game.
The Yankees often complain — and loudly to umpires during games — that the Rays are trying to move them off the plate by pitching inside. Yet, the Bombers pitchers are doing the same thing, Both teams pitching coaches are not going to apologize for that.
Matt Blake, in his second year as pitching coach for the Yankees, said it is hard
for pitchers to balance filtering out the noise and sticking with their game plan.
But they will stick with their plan to try and beat the defending AL champs.
“Obviously we want to pitch inside, because that’s a big part of our plan, moving forward on both sides. You have to be aware that there are some natural tensions between our two teams so anytime you hit a guy there’s going to be a perceived ‘is it intentional, is it not intentional?’ I think it’s something we have to wrestle with,” Blake said Wednesday. “I totally understand their frustration with it now. Monty obviously was not looking to hit Meadows the other day and was
struggling general with his command. But I think for us just not letting the noise kind of get to us and move us away from our attack plan, but being mindful of some of these things that are underlying some of the games we’re playing.”
“I don’t think that was a very good look on their part, and we have every right to be very frustrated about what happened throughout the weekend. ... We were mad. We voiced our opinions. There was a lot of barking from the dugout going on, rightfully so,” Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said. “But these things continue to still happen. Whatever. We’ll see where it goes from here.”