Fair or unfair, Marcus Stroman has always had the reputation of being a bit of a selfish brat.
Unfortunately, his latest decision has done nothing but feed into that narrative.
With his new team, the New York Yankees, trying to keep their heads above water with the recent injury to ace pitcher Gerrit Cole, manager Aaron Boone has been left scrambling for an Opening Day starter.
Gerrit Cole is expected to miss one to two months with an elbow injury, per @JonHeyman.
No UCL tear has been detected, but there’s concern about the ligament. pic.twitter.com/Y8sxMy0QBu
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) March 13, 2024
Boone asked Stroman to be the Opening Day starter, but Stroman reportedly refused.
There used to be a day where when a manager asked you to do something, you did it … Sadly, those days seem long gone.
Stroman a team player….LOL.
— TomD (@TomD80106675) March 14, 2024
With health and performance concerns surrounding other pitchers on the staff, the veteran Stroman seemed like a solid fit to take the ball on March 28th against the rival Houston Astros.
However, he is not interested.
Marcus Stroman didn’t even make it to the first month of the season to let fans know the only thing important to him is Marcus Stroman
He will call Yankees fans racist by June
— Foil Hot Dog Liners (@jerseypiroz) March 15, 2024
“I think they thought I was going to be like, ‘Hey, let me get it,’” Stroman said. “But like I said, that’s not my nature, man. Doesn’t matter to me.”
(Jeez, what a great attitude, huh???)
Garbage!
— Michael Ciampi (@MichaelCiampi71) March 15, 2024
“People don’t understand how much changing your schedule at this point in the spring – might seem like it’s easy – but every little day matters,” Stroman added.
Marcus Stroman = CERTIFIED BUM!
— Paulie Ravioli (@PaulieRavioli) March 15, 2024
Boone is now left searching for a starter…again.
With Carlos Rodon being announced as the starter for the second game of the season, options for Opening Day include Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt.
Every Pitcher dreams of being the opening day starter and this fuck declines the opportunity. https://t.co/FR6QyVRUcr
— Aaron Michael (@URNIN69) March 15, 2024
“I feel like everybody knows losing the best pitcher in baseball is always going to hurt. There’s no way to get around that,” Stroman said.
That’s nice that he acknowledged that … It would be even nicer if he was willing to help his team and manager out by doing what’s asked.
Once a jerkoff always a jerkoff
— Dave Gautieri (@DaveGautieri) March 15, 2024
What are your thoughts on Stroman refusing to take the ball on Opening Day?
Did Brian Cashman make a mistake by signing him?
Who will end up starting the Opener?
In the big picture, how do you think the Yankees will do this season???