The identity of the New York Yankees coach who was the target of a barb from Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider has been revealed.
The Yankees and Blue Jays had some beef on Tuesday. During the third inning, Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas was asked to reposition himself to be more within the coaches’ box.
Some barbs were traded from both sides, and cameras caught Schneider shouting “shut up, fat boy” to someone on the Yankees (video here).
Now we know who was targeted by that zinger.
Yankees assistant hitting coach Brad Wilkerson was the “fat boy” in question.
Brad Wilkerson, the target of Blue Jays manager John Schneider's "shut up, fat boy" comment, heard good-natured ribbing pretty much all day from Yankees players & staff. But it did irk plenty. As one member of the traveling party said of Schneider: "he should look in the mirror."
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 17, 2023
Wilkerson said he didn’t even know about the barb until after the game.
Brad Wilkerson on if he thought Schneider's comments across the field were directed at him: "I don't know. I didn't even know about anything until the game was over. I'd like to hear it from his end. Stuff happens. We try to stay in our dugout. … I guess it was pointed at me."
— Greg Joyce (@GJoyce9) May 17, 2023
Wilkerson played eight seasons in the majors from 2001-2008. He was listed at 6-foot tall and 200 pounds at the time. He seems to have put on a bit of weight since then, but he doesn’t seem to be any more portly than Schneider.
https://twitter.com/cturs3/status/1658905957374607362
Wilkerson has been with the Yankees since January. He was a legend in college at Florida, whom he led to the College World Series twice. The former Montreal Expos outfielder hit .247 with a .790 OPS during his MLB career and slugged 122 home runs. In addition to being elected to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, Wilkerson also won a gold medal for Team USA at the 2000 Olympics. That’s not too bad for a fat boy.
