Story update below with additional context.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a game-tying, two-run home run in New York tonight, but then “took his sweet time” rounding the bases, which really chapped Francisco Lindor (Update: As we discuss later on in this post, it was about much more than that).
So Lindor and Stanton exchanged some words, which that got the attention of both benches, who, after some coaxing from Javy Baez and Lindor cleared from the dugout and got into a stalemate on the field.
Giancarlo Stanton hits a home run to tie the game and has some words for Francisco Lindor as he rounds the bases so benches clear pic.twitter.com/l4eAdOI3f8
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 13, 2021
Man, the Mets are tense lately. I feel terrible.*
*That sarcasm is not directed towards Javy Baez, for whom I actually do feel terrible.
You probably wouldn't know it because of the headlines, but do you know how well Javy Baez is hitting in New York? Over 115 PAs he's slashing …
.292/.348/.585 (152 wRC+) with 8 homers and 7 doubles. Like wow.
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) September 12, 2021
With that said, I think maybe these two guys could help the Yankees and Mets patch things up, right?
https://twitter.com/CubsZone/status/1436492955351719936?s=20
UPDATE: As I dig deeper, it seems I initially had it wrong – or, at least, there’s more to the story. It was never about the trot, itself, though the taunting and turnaround certainly didn’t help. In fact, it appears to instead be about some alleged whistling before pitches a la Astros/trash cans. Watch as Lindor makes that very clear after his second home run of the night.
Last night the Mets thought the Yankees were stealing pitches by whistling so after hitting his second home run tonight Francisco Lindor was doing a whistling motion toward the Yankees as he rounded the bases pic.twitter.com/gZEjss59RM
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 13, 2021
Naturally, Lindor wound up hitting a THIRD home run later in the game, and the Mets won.
Jordan-meme aside, this is like a classic “I’m not sayin, I’m just sayin….”
Lindor repeats he is not accusing the Yankees of whistling, but he felt like something out of the ordinary was going on.
"And I took that personally," Lindor said.
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) September 13, 2021