Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider expressed his disappointment in Seattle Mariners fans after they began booing an injured player on the field.
In Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo hit Blue Jays star George Springer on the knee – causing the slugger to go down for some time.
Springer grimaced in pain after taking the 95+mph sinker to his leg and struggled to get up.
Eventually, he got to his feet to the sound of booing from Mariners fans at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. After limping his way to first base, the Blue Jays replaced him with pinch runner Joey Loperfido.
After the game, which Seattle won 6-2, Schneider chastised the crowd who let out their boos at Springer.
‘It’s really cool to play here. (But) I think the fans that were booing him should take a look in the mirror and understand what kind of player he is and … I’ll stop there,’ Schneider said as part of a profanity-laded press conference.
Mariners fans booed Blue Jays star George Springer after he was hit on the knee by a pitch
Manager John Schneider chastised Mariners fans, saying they ‘should take a look in the mirror’
‘Because when a guy gets hit in the knee and is in obvious pain and you have 40,000 people cheering – not the right thing to do.’
Schneider says that Springer suffered a right knee contusion and X-Rays came back negative for any fractures. The slugger is expected to be in the lineup for Game 6 at home on October 19.
Springer drove in the first run of the game with an RBI double in the top of the fifth inning.
Across the whole postseason, Springer has ten hits, three home runs, and a .917 OPS. He also lead the team in WAR (4.8) and OPS (.959) in the regular season.
Toronto is one loss away from being eliminated from the postseason. First pitch for Game 6 is set for 8:03pm ET on Sunday afternoon.
