Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah was upset when the sports radio host slammed teammate Alejandro Kirk for being overweight.
During one of Tuesday’s doubleheader games between Canada’s only major league team and the Tampa Bay Rays, the Blue Jays released video of Kirk walking off first base after a base hit by a teammate to end his run Sign saying ‘We could walk through a wall with our captain Alejandro Kirk’.
The host of the show in question, which aired on TSN radio waves in Montreal, then shared with the publication, writing: “It’s very beautiful, but it’s also embarrassing for the sport. Giving importance to a guy like that only fuels bad stereotypes. According to Major League Baseball’s website, Kirk is 5’8” tall and weighs 245 lbs.
At that moment Manoah entered the story, he who had not digested the criticism of his good friend.
“Keep going,” says the eight-year-old, who is 10 kilos overweight. He should stop playing immediately. Get off the keyboard and let Kirk inspire these young people to pursue their dream of becoming the best,” Manoah wrote.
Then, when the TSN host tried to retort by mentioning that he wanted to “defend baseball” and that “the ratings have gone down,” suggesting that some athletes’ physical fitness was to blame, Manoah said.
“You’re now saying that the odds have gone down because there are too many overweight players? Let me ask you this question: why did he get millions of votes for being an all-star starter?
In his third major league campaign, Kirk became a key part of manager John Schneider’s squad. In 126 games before Saturday’s game of the day, he held a batting average of .295, hit 13 long balls and produced 59 points.
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