Big-league smarts or bush-league stunt? Fans were buzzing Thursday over whether Alex Rodriguez broke baseball’s unwritten code by making a remark that distracted a Toronto infielder and allowed a ninth-inning popup to fall for a run-scoring single.
Rodriguez was on first base Wednesday night when Jorge Posada popped up. A-Rod ran hard and shouted near third baseman Howie Clark, who was playing his first major-league game this season.
“I just said, ‘Hah!’ That’s it,” Rodriguez said.
“I heard a ‘mine’ call, and so I let it go,” said Clark, who backed off and let the ball drop as Rodriguez got to third.
“I don’t know how you can get away with that, unless you’re a Yankee player,” Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel said.
Nothing in the Official Baseball Rules governs what players can say.
“Why not do it? You have to do everything to win games,” Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “I don’t care what people say.”
