Is There Some Hostility Growing Between The Guardians And White Sox?

Andres Gimenez, Steven Kwan, and Jose Ramirez were all hit by pitches last night. Was this a coincidence or another chapter in a long history?

Tommy Wild | Jul 12, 2022

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Last night, three Guardians players were hit by pitches from the Chicago White Sox. The first two against Andres Gimenez and Steven Kwan seemed to get brushed off. But by the time All-Star Jose Ramirez took one, Tito seemed to have had enough.

This may not be an isolated event though. These teams seem to have some bad blood growing between one another dating all the way back to the beginning of last year.

Andres Gimenez Gets Shoved, Benches Clear

Andres Gimenez was new to the club in April 2021. However, that didn't mean he was exempt from any bitterness.

Adam Eaton, who is no longer with the White Sox, slid into second base and didn't like the way that Gimenez tagged him. He made sure he knew it too because he got up yelling at Gimenez, Cesar Hernandez, and the umpire. Eaton then shoved Andres, causing the benches to clear and bullpens to empty.

There was quite a bit of yelling from both sides and a little bit of pushing too. At the time, it may have seemed like it was over … but in reality, the rivalry was just getting reignited.

James Karinchak Hits Jose Abreu, Tony La Russa Takes Excpetion

At the end of July last year, Cleveland found themselves in a tight game in Chicago. With the bases loaded, James Karinchak hit Jose Abreu in the head with a four-seam-fastball. Karinchak immediately took a knee and Roberto Perez signaled to the White Sox's dugout for help.

Tony La Russa came running out, stepped around his injured player, and pushed Perez out of the way. Then he started barking at Roberto as if it was his fault. Benches were cleared to separate the two and some other players on both teams could be seen yapping at each other.

In the end, Franmil Reyes could be seen telling Abreu by no means was the pitch on purpose Jose Abreu even gave Karinchak a hug letting him know he understood he was trying to pitch him inside and didn't mean anything of it.

However, after the game, Tim Andreson said, "Definitely we're upset. You hit our man ... You're brushing guys off the plate the whole game, and of course, we're going to get mad at the situation."

Tim Andreson Suspended For Gesture To Cleveland Crowd

Fast forward to this season, when some of the players even started to get into it with the opposing fans. First on the White Sox side, Tim Andreson got suspended for one game after cameras caught him giving the middle finger to some of the Cleveland fans.

The White Sox were clearly frustrated with their play and lost the game 11-1. Andreson was especially frustrated because of his three errors in just the first two innings of the game.

Props to Anderson, who did say he was sorry for what he did and took full accountability for it.

Josh Naylor Hits Two Home Runs After Being Heckled By Chicago Fans

The Guardians' extra-innings win in Chicago in early May might have been one of the most exciting games of the season so far.

Josh Naylor absolutely exploded with a grand slam and then a three-run home run to help the Guardians take the lead.

After the first home run, Naylor put his index finger over his mouth in a "quiet" motion and then pointed behind him after the second. He then lost it in the dugout by throwing his element and yelling a truck load of profanities. He was clearly extra pumped, and he had a good reason for it!

Clevelander Chris Rose revealed on his podcast Baseball Today that some fans were heckling Naylor for his "dad-bod look." Clearly, Naylor didn't take this lightly and wanted to prove the White Sox fans wrong, this is exactly what he did.

Kwan, Gimenez, Ramirez All Hit By Pitches In One Game

That takes us to last night's game, where three Guardians batters were hit by pitches. Gimenez was the first of the Guardians players to get hit. He looked frustrated with what had happened, but who wouldn't be? He's now been hit seven times in the last 13 games.

Then in the fourth inning, Lance Lynn hit Steven Kwan with a pitch. Kwan jogged down to first, not thinking anything of it.

The bottom of the eighth inning is where it gets a little suspect in my opinion. In a game where the White Sox are down four runs, Jose Ramirez took a 94 mph fastball to the back leg and took a minute to shake it off.

Manager, Terry Francona went out to check on Ramirez and called off pitcher Tanner Banks after he was apparently chirping at him. The fans down at Progressive Field gave Tito a nice round of applause for this.

Cleveland and Chicago see each other quite a bit throughout a season, so interactions like these are going to happen from time to time. But looking back on this season and last season, there is clearly a track record starting to grow for both teams.

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Published Jul 12, 2022

TOMMY WILD