'It Was a Joke': Rangers' Chris Woodward Plays Down Jab at Yankee Stadium

Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward was shredded on Twitter for calling Yankee Stadium a "Little League ballpark," but played down his comments as a "joke."

Chris Halicke | May 9, 2022

The Texas Rangers and New York Yankees split a Mother's Day doubleheader, with the Yankees taking the first game, 2-1, courtesy of a Gleyber Torres walk-off solo home run.

In his postgame interview, Rangers manager Chris Woodward made some wry comments about Yankee Stadium, saying Torres' walk-off homer would be an "easy out in 99 percent of ballparks." He also called it a "Little League ballpark."

"That's an easy out in 99% of ballparks... He just happened to hit it in a Little League ballpark." -Rangers manager Chris Woodward on Gleyber Torres' walk-off home run

Gleyber's 369-foot shot that traveled at 106.5 MPH would have been a home run at 26 of 30 MLB parks pic.twitter.com/obrxaZ2Vgj
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 8, 2022

According to Baseball Savant, Torres' walk-off winner would have been a home run in 26 of 30 Major League ballparks.

In turn, it didn't take long before social media did its thing and Woodward became the laughing stock of baseball's most prominent Twitter accounts. Even MLB Network reporter and New York Post columnist Jon Heyman later referred to the Rangers skipper at "Chris Woodwhine."

May 7, 2019; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward (8) looks on before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.

May 8, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) reacts while running the bases after hitting a walk-off solo home run during the bottom of the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium.

May 8, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; Texas Rangers third baseman Brad Miller (13) looks up at his two run home run during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

In addition, Rangers outfielder Eli White hit a wall-scraper in the Rangers' 4-2 win in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Ironically, White's hit would have been a homer in only two of 30 ballparks.

Woodward was made aware of the shredding taking place on Twitter after the conclusion of Sunday's doubleheader, and played down his comments.

"It was a joke. Listen, I love this place. This is like one of the cathedrals in all of sports," Woodward said. "Everybody (knows) it's got a short right field. It was more of a joke than anything. We hit one of our own in this game, so I guess karma's funny that way. But no, I love this place; it's a beautiful ballpark."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about Woodward's comments and initially had no reaction. Seconds later, Boone responded with a short retort.

"His math's wrong," Boone said. "99 percent is impossible. There's only 30 parks."

Published May 9, 2022

CHRIS HALICKE