Tyler Collins makes obscene gesture toward fans after misplay
The debate over whether baseball players should show more emotions on the field has dominated the game this season. Some believe flipping bats and reacting to big plays should be allowed. Others believe it’s disrespectful to opponents.
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No matter what you think about the issue, Detroit Tigers outfielder Tyler Collins probably took things too far during Monday’s game against the Oakland Athletics.
In the top of the sixth inning, Collins misplayed a ball hit in the air to center. He appeared to lose the ball in the lights, and it fell in weakly in front of him. Fans booed Collins after the play, and he had an unfortunate response (his gesture is NSFW … just a warning).
In case you may have missed it:
Yeah, not great! While we aren’t expert lip readers here, it does look like Collins says “[expletive] everyone here” when making the gesture.
That’s most certainly going to cost him. You can’t get away with giving fans the finger, especially when it’s captured by television cameras. You can maybe get away with that in the minors, but not in the big leagues. Everything you do will be seen.
It’s also not going to endear him to the local fans. This happened at home, and we can’t imagine Tigers fans are going to enjoy that.
[Elsewhere: This harsh minor-league promotion was quickly cancelled]
So, uh, yeah. It’s one thing to celebrate a big play or flip your bat after a big hit. But it’s something entirely different when you flip off your own fans. Collins, or more accurately, his wallet, will probably regret the reaction shortly.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
