SerpApi.Org
In the bottom of the eighth inning of the Yankees' eventual 8-5 win over the Pirates, an unexpected benches-clearing incident took hold in a matter of seconds, and nobody knew why. Former Yankee Dennis Santana and Jose Caballero were at the center of it.
Santana was fuming after exchanging words with Caballero, who grounded into a double play to end the inning. What was the problem? How did tensions escalate to this degree under those circumstances?
It turns out Caballero's routine in the batter's box — the one where he waits until the last possible moment to engage with the pitcher to avoid a clock violation — had Santana incensed. In all honesty, with how it all transpired, we thought Caballero had some choice words for Santana when they were jawing on the field. But that wasn't the case at all.
Santana admitted to losing his cool with Caballero's approach and essentially said he didn't feel it was necessary for it to continue because the Yankees were up three runs and Caballero was already 2-for-4 with two RBI. Perhaps the softest thing said this year?
Once again, all Caballero did was shrug. He's gotten complaints from pitchers and umpires throughout the season, but that hasn't stopped him from sticking with his approach in order to disrupt the opposition.
Jose Caballero has blunt response to Dennis Santana after Yankees-Pirates incident
And in case you weren't aware why Caballero has a rabid group of Yankees supporters despite his (on the surface) underwhelming numbers, his postgame response to Santana and the Pirates emphasized why some fans want to see him on the field as much as possible.
Call it a gimmick. Call it an attempt to make up for offense that leaves a bit to be desired. But this is what Caballero has always done, and his teammates have vocally supported him.
The unhinged reactions Caballero gets from this actually expose and weaken the opposition. One of the league's newer umpires, Steven Jaschinski, took exception to it likely due to his lack of experience. The crybaby Blue Jays couldn't handle it. And now you have Santana, who was suspended last year for trying to fight a fan, as the latest unhappy party. Shocker.
The fact of the matter is that Caballero has been doing this since the league installed the pitch clock. Why it continues to be a story, we have no idea why. But like Caballero said, it's everybody else's problem at this point.
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This article was originally published on yanksgoyard.com as Jose Caballero issues blunt response after tense Yankees-Pirates benches clearing moment.
