Column: Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong learns you can’t win when responding to idiot fans
Long after his retirement, New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio lamented the treatment of baseball players by modern-day fans. “In my day,” DiMaggio said, “they just called you a bum. ” Oh, for the days when fans thought calling someone a bum was about as insulting as it gets.
Nothing is out of bounds anymore, and now they’re armed with smartphones to catch players returning the volley with a vulgar insult of their own. Pete Crow-Armstrong, the talented Chicago Cubs center fielder who could use an emotional support dog to relax him while playing baseball, was baited by one such fan on Sunday at White Sox Park after he missed a fly ball that no one on the planet could’ve caught. He then paid the price when the video of his vulgar response went viral.
Crow-Armstrong said he woke up Monday to many text messages about the incident and expressed regret before the Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers game. “I just regret my choice of words the most, and who that affects in my life,” he said, referring to unnamed women. “So I’m just bummed out about the word choice, and that a bunch of little kids go and probably find their way to social media and see that as well.
” Crow-Armstrong blamed it on his intensity and called it a “lack of awareness. ” He did not apologize to the fan, who reportedly provoked Crow-Armstrong by telling him some version of “you suck,” which long ago replaced “you’re a bum” among popular fan insults. Manager Craig Counsell agreed that the word choice was inappropriate, but stopped short of saying players should completely ignore harassing fans.
It’s easy to say, but harder to do when they’re two feet away from someone divided by a fence. I’m not here to defend Crow-Armstrong, who is old enough to know better. But the fan who tried to get a reaction from him for social media — and succeeded — should also be embarrassed for behaving like a meathead.
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