Colby Lewis expressed disappointment with former teammate Ian Kinsler after the Detroit Tigers second baseman took him deep and then waved at the Texas Rangers bench in the first inning of Tuesday’s game.
Kinsler returned to Globe Life Park in Arlington for the first time since being traded to Detroit over the offseason. He was the second batter of the game and took Lewis deep to left field to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Kinsler was so thrilled about hitting a home run that he gave a little wave to the Rangers dugout as he was heading to first.
Unsurprisingly, Lewis didn’t like that.
“It’s unfortunate, I feel like it’s unfortunate but that’s just me,” Lewis said after the game via ESPN Dallas. “I’m not going to sit here and bad-mouth Kins, I really enjoyed Kins and I enjoyed my time playing with him and I enjoyed him as a teammate; disappointed, that’s the word. That’s all. I love Kins, that’s all. I was just disappointed a little bit, that’s all.”
If the Rangers as a whole were upset with Kinsler, they had a right to be. Not only did he show them up by waving after the home run, but Kinsler is persona non grata in Texas after ripping the Rangers following the trade, saying he hoped they would go 0-162.
After the game, Kinsler defended himself.
“It was nothing personal at all, I was having a good time. It was my return home and to get lucky enough to … have it go over the fence it was a good feeling and I was just having fun. I was just having fun. I wasn’t thinking, I was just enjoying the moment and that’s what happened.”
What qualifies for Kinsler as “having fun” comes across as obvious disrespect to the Rangers. I would be pretty disappointed with Kinsler for doing that if I were the Rangers as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they dosed him for it.
