Ian Kinsler is having a rough season at the plate with the San Diego Padres this year, and the veteran infielder has heard some boos from home fans while struggling to produce. He appeared to fire back at the Padres faithful following his big home run on Thursday night, though Kinsler insists we are all misinterpreting his actions.
With San Diego trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Kinsler belted a three-run homer that eventually turned out to be the game-winner. He appeared to shout, ‘F— you! F— all of you!’ toward the stands when he finished rounding the bases.
Ian Kinsler told his own fanbase tonight to “go f*** themselves” after homering. pic.twitter.com/yMKRDrmM2C
— Max Wildstein (@MaxWildstein) May 17, 2019
The reaction looked like it was clearly directly toward the fans, but Kinsler said after the game that it was merely an “inside thing” with his teammates.
Here’s the full clip of Ian Kinsler’s postgame interview when asked if he had a message for the fans after his go-ahead homer tonight: #Padres #PadresTwitter pic.twitter.com/WEvwhh4j5g
— Matt ن (@thesdmatt) May 17, 2019
“That was for my teammates. It had nothing to do with the fans,” Kinsler said. “It’s an inside thing with them. I was trying to get everybody fired up.”
We find that extremely hard to believe.
Kinsler is batting just .175 this season with an on-base percentage of .233, so you can understand why Padres fans have been frustrated with him. He should be used to that by now, as even his own Alexa device trash talked him before he decided to play a 14th MLB season. That home run must have felt good, but a guy who is hitting .175 really shouldn’t be that animated in bragging about one clutch swing.
