It has now been two years since Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price infamously got into a verbal confrontation with Dennis Eckersley on a team flight, and the Hall of Famer clearly has not gotten over the incident. Price, however, seems to think it is quite humorous.
Eckersley was asked about the July 2017 exchange with Price as part of a lengthy feature published by Chad Finn of The Boston Globe this week, and the NESN broadcaster said he is just as baffled about it now as he was then. He also said he has not spoken to Price and doesn’t intend to.
“I didn’t know how to deal with that. I don’t plan on saying a word to him, I don’t plan on seeing him, never,” Eckersley said. “I don’t really give a [expletive] one way or another. I don’t think he really cares one way or the other.”
Price had called out Eckersley for some of his negative commentary, specifically when Eckersley said “yuck” on the air after a stat line was shown from Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez’s minor league rehab start. As Finn noted, the Red Sox now have a policy where broadcasters board the team plane before players. If Eckersley doesn’t want to speak to Price or acknowledge the left-hander’s existence, he can probably continue to make that happen.
When Price caught wind of Eckersley’s latest thoughts on the feud, he had a simple response on Twitter.
— David Price (@DAVIDprice24) July 17, 2019
Obviously, there was no clear-the-air meeting between the two. Price supposedly tried to reach out after the incident, but Eckersley turned him down and said he is not going to change his broadcasting style for anyone. He has remained true to his word, which is part of the reason he was ripped by Marcus Stroman earlier this season. Eck clearly feels he did not deserve to be ambushed by Price, and he has no interest in hearing the fellow Cy Young Award winner’s side of the story.
