It hasn’t been the best of seasons for Justin Wilson so far. The Yankees reliever surrendered a two-run blast to Martin Maldonado in the ninth inning on Thursday, right after the Bombers had cut the deficit to one.
It was the first home run Maldonado hit this season, and his first RBI. His wRC+ was in the red entering the game.
For Wilson, the inefficient outing raised his season ERA to 7.04, with a nearly identical FIP (7.01). He has allowed eight hits and six earned runs in 7.2 innings, and Yankee fans took their frustrations right to Wilson on Twitter after the game, pleading with the Yanks to get rid of Wilson.
Only they were asking for the wrong Wilson to be let go.
It started with one Twitter user tagging the wrong Justin Wilson in a tweet, using the handle of right-handed pitcher Justin Wilson of the Hudson Valley Renegades, the Yankees High-A affiliate.
In a playful response, Wilson told the user “I thought I pitched pretty well last night,” referring to the two scoreless innings he pitched in his season debut. That still wasn’t enough to tip fans off to the fact that they had the wrong Wilson. More fans continued to respond, saying Wilson clearly wasn’t fit for New York, criticizing his lack of command on the mound and more. Some users tried to make the angry mob aware of their mistake, but to no avail.
And to think all the seething crowd had to do was look at this Justin Wilson’s Twitter photo, which shows him pitching right handed, which the major-league Justin Wilson certainly does not do.
Minor-league Justin Wilson, a 23rd round pick by the Yanks in 2018, hopes to make it to the Bronx one day, but perhaps receive a little different type of treatment, especially once fans figure out who he actually is.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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