Woodward regrets saying Yankees have ‘Little League’ park

Advertisement

Advertise with us

NEW YORK (AP) — A day after calling Yankee Stadium a “Little League ballpark” following Gleyber Torres' game-winning home run over the right field short porch, Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward said he regretted his postgame remarks.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$0 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Monthly Digital Subscription

$4.75/week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

No thanks

*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/05/2022 (1279 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK (AP) — A day after calling Yankee Stadium a “Little League ballpark” following Gleyber Torres’ game-winning home run over the right field short porch, Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward said he regretted his postgame remarks.

“Probably bad words on my part,” he said Monday. “I gave it a layup for a lot of people. But listen, I meant no disrespect, obviously, to this place. And it’s obviously a world-class organization, ballpark. I talk about it as always being like one of my favorite places to come play, but I understand why Yankee fans will get upset about it. That’s why I love them.”

Torres’ ninth-inning drive off John King (1-1) traveled 369 feet and was hit at 106.5 mph, giving the Yankees a 2-1 win in a doubleheader opener.

New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres watches his walkoff home run during the ninth inning of the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium, Sunday, May 8, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres watches his walkoff home run during the ninth inning of the first game of a baseball doubleheader against the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium, Sunday, May 8, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

“Small ballpark. That’s a easy out in 99% of ballparks,” Woodward said Sunday. “Just happened to hit it in a Little League ballpark to right field.”

Torres’ shot would have been a home run in 26 of the 30 major league ballparks, according to MLB Statcast.

“His math is wrong — 99%’s impossible,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “There’s only 30 parks.”

New York took a swipe at Woodward when Giancarlo Stanton hit a 461-foot home run to left in the second game, a 4-2 Texas win.

“We are going to guess this is a home run in 30/30 major league ballparks,” the Yankees tweeted.

Torres’ seven walk-off hits since 2018 are the most in the majors in that span. That was his second game-ending homer.

“Both teams play in the same ballpark. It’s the same dimension,” Torres said. “I feel good to hit a walk-off homer in the Little League ballpark.”

Texas Rangers' manager Chris Woodward sits at the dugout before a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Monday, May 9, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Texas Rangers' manager Chris Woodward sits at the dugout before a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, Monday, May 9, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Woodward, in his fourth season as the Rangers’ manager, is familiar with New York from his time as an infielder with the Mets in 2005 and ’06. He laughed a little bit at the Yankees tweet.

“I adore the city. The ballpark is probably one of my favorite places to come,” Woodward said. ”They’ve got a short right field. They always have. Honestly, it was back to the old park. And that’s kind of what makes this place unique in a lot of ways. And hats off to Gleyber. Man, he hit that ball hard.”

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Report Error Submit a Tip

Baseball

LOAD MORE