The Red Sox were able to salvage their opening series against the Yankees in the Bronx with a win on Sunday night, and likely helped Alex Verdugo avoid even more trash talk from the fans in left field.
But Verdugo says he loves hearing it from the rowdy Bronx crowd behind him at Yankee Stadium, especially when he is able to answer with his bat.
Verdugo told MLB Centeal on Thursday morning that he welcomes the taunts from Yankee fans when Boston is in town, and was able to give some back on Saturday when he took Yankees starter Luis Severino deep into the right field seats, and pointed out to his favorite section of Yankee Stadium fans in left field, twice, as he rounded the bases.
“They let me have it, but the best thing is, I just laugh,” Verdugo said “I egg them on. I say, ‘come on keep going.’ It gives me a little extra feel, so when I do something good, when I hit that homer off of Severino, I was definitely pointing out to my little fan section in left.”
Verdugo experienced one Yankee fan taking things too far last season, when he was hit by a baseball thrown from the left field seats, resulting in that fan being banned for life from all 30 MLB parks. But during opening weekend, it was just the usual verbal attacks and taunts that give him fuel for payback when he’s at the plate.
“They’re pretty aggressive and ruthless out there with the chants of certain things they say, talking about family members, talking about whatever they want,” Verdugo said.
But Verdugo is convinced those taunts from the stands wouldn’t be so ruthless unless they respected his game and feared what he could do against their favorite team.
“I feel like they respect it to a certain point,” Verdugo said. “But at the game time, they’re never gonna let me know that.”
Verdugo and the Red Sox will be back in the Bronx later this season, but not until mid July.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
