Marcus Stroman is one of the more animated pitchers in baseball, and the Toronto Blue Jays ace does not care if the way he plays rubs people the wrong way. That includes you, Alex Cora.
During the fourth inning of Toronto’s win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, Stroman seemed irritated that rookie Michael Chavis called timeout and stepped out of the box. The right-hander responded by going with a quick pitch, and Chavis hit a grounder to third.
Marcus Stroman, Quick Pitch (after Chavis calls time, to try to mess with Stroman's rhythm). pic.twitter.com/mTipRxogSA
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 22, 2019
Chavis and Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale had some words for Stroman after the quick pitch, and Cora later said Stroman “competes a certain way and people don’t like it.”
From last night: #RedSox manager Alex Cora on #BlueJays starter Marcus Stroman and the disagreement in the 4th inning (which Stroman said was between he and Michael Chavis)… pic.twitter.com/S4Ig0uSEWi
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) May 22, 2019
On Wednesday, Stroman defended the quick pitch and said he doesn’t care what any of his opponents think about him.
I compete. That’s it. Didn’t know I had to cater to opposing teams to like me. Everyone messes with timing, deliveries and pitching mechanics these days. Everyone. Get over it. I’m going to keep that dawg mentality always. Pops raised me right and approves of it all! ????????♂️ https://t.co/y5xvA6dGhm
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) May 22, 2019
The Blue Jays won 10-3 thanks in part to Stroman’s six innings of one-run ball, so you can understand why he has no intention of changing the way he plays. We saw an example of how competitive he is when he showed up his manager a couple weeks back, but the team likely has no problem dealing with a few controversies if Stroman continues to pitch the way he has through 11 starts. He has a 2.81 ERA on the year despite his 2-6 record.
