The Sonny Gray situation is getting ugly in New York.
The New York Yankees pitcher already is having a season to forget, and things didn’t get much better Wednesday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles. Gray surrendered seven earned runs on eight hits and two walks before getting pulled with two outs in the third inning, exiting to a chorus of boos from the Yankee Stadium crowd.
But rather than brush off the boos and take his medicine, Gray actually laughed as he walked off the mound, and cameras caught the whole thing.
(You can click here to watch the bizarre scene.)
That’s a pretty tough look in any city, but it’s especially ugly in New York, which hasn’t been shy about booing its players all season.
Here’s a photo of the grin that surely will be plastered all over New York tabloids Thursday morning:
Noah K. Murray/USA TODAY Sports Images
Gray deleted his Twitter account before the conclusion of the game, seemingly to avoid the inevitable backlash from fans. But that didn’t stop a particularly ironic tweet from 2009 to make the rounds.
“You have to be really good to get all of Yankee stadium to boo you as you’re walking off the mound,” Gray wrote in October of that year. ” … And a Hall of Famer to smile about it.”
Honestly, it’s hard to not feel bad for Gray, as he’s in the midst of a brutal season, and it’s possible he just let out a nervous laugh. Or maybe he really just has a terrible attitude — who knows.
Either way, the 28-year-old now is 8-7 with a 5.56 ERA in 20 starts. At this point, it’s tough to see the Yankees giving him the ball to begin a postseason game.
