Booing Cano in the home run derby… With the guy’s dad pitching to him. Disgraceful. Nice example for the kids of KC.
???
I don’t get it. Don’t the pitchers in the home run derby purposely lob it over anyway so the guys can crush it?
Yeah, didn’t quite work out that way for Cano.
Ah I see, it’s the booing.
I obviously misunderstood.
Well, not only does Cano play for the Yankees - valid ground for lusty booing at every ballpark in the nation not named Yankee Stadium - he also upset Kansas Citians when he, as captain of the AL home run derby team, did not choose the Royals’ Billy Butler to swing for the fences tonight.
When I saw this thread originally, I thought the booing was just because he was a Yankee. Considering it’s All-Star week, that would show some lack of class. But apparently it had more to do with leaving the hometown guy off the list for the home run derby. When you’re the one picking and choosing your teammates, guess you gotta put up with the outcome.
(Of course, the guy Cano chose in place of Butler, Mark Trumbo, just ripped some moon shots into the Kansas City night.)
Of all the places I’d expect to see in a thread with this title, KC was pretty far down the list.
I thought it was stupid, but not really a big deal. Trumbo was the right pick. I’m tempted to make a joke about the fact that Butler will make a home run derby at some point but that he’ll probably be on another team and that point, but…
I haven’t found the exact quote, but Cano said something about taking a Royal for the home run derby if one was “available”. Billy Butler is the Royals’ All Star representative, and has 16 home runs. Prince Fielder has 15 home runs. I don’t think anyone would have beat Fielder, but it isn’t like Butler wouldn’t be capable of hitting. When asked why Cano didn’t take Trumbo, his answer was not perceived to be honest.
Matt Kemp had the wherewithal to take Carlos Beltran, a former Royal who’s hitting pretty well this year. The KC crowd still loves him, and it was a great selection. Billy Butler is also hitting really well, and is the Royals’ only All Star representative. Not only is it not unreasonable for the fans to want to see him, and not only is he qualified to participate without embarrassing himself, but Cano himself said he’d select a Royal if he had the chance. He had that chance and went back on his word, and that makes him an asshole. Being an asshole to the home crowd gets you booed - being a Yankee in KC is the icing on the cake.
They were screaming Booo-urns.
The fact that Cano’s pitcher was his own dad is a nice thing as between the two of them, but was ~ correctly ~ irrelevant as far as the crowd was concerned. They weren’t booing his dad, they were booing him.
A player on the Yankees has to deal with booing. Suck it up. Certainly visiting players in Yankee Stadium have to take verbal abuse from Yankee fans, so it balances out.
Yes, I understand the double standard that the Yankees and their fans have to face. But this was over the top. Again, completely classless.
Not that anybody in the stands would give a shit anyway, but Cano said he had to turn in his selections before he knew who the Royals’ designated mandatory feel-good technically-Major League All-Star was. It’s too bad the fans didn’t get what they wanted, but Cano made good picks since all three of the guys he chose made it to the final four. And regardless, it’s the fucking home run derby. Did the fans have any complaints about the choices for the celebrity softball game?
I think they wish native-son Paul Rudd had been included (assuming he wasn’t…).
It’s tradition! Fielder got booed mercilessly in Phoenix last year. At least he didn’t 0-fer.
It was pretty crappy. Not quite on the level of Boston fans yelling “Shake!” to Jim Eisenreich, but pretty crappy nonetheless.
that goes both ways - yeah the choices were good and Trumbo was really impressive. But like you said - it’s just the HR Derby, and it’s all for show. I’d like to see some tweaks to allow more home town heroes in the future.
Actually, KU coach Bill Self got boos from about 50% of the crowd. KC is passionate about their sports.
He’ll get over it.
Completely agree, which is why these guys need to get real and give the hometown fans something to cheer for. The HR Derby has absolutely zero consequences. I support KC fans booing Canoe.
If the decision is that critical, MLB should mandate that a hometown guy has to compete in the derby. That should be great the next time a Kansas City-type team hosts the game and their only representative is a relief pitcher. Cano didn’t know which Royal was going to make the team and he picked three of the four biggest hitters in the contest, so he did very will with the job they gave him.