TORONTO — Stepping to the podium Sunday afternoon at Rogers Centre, hours before the first pitch in Game 1 of the ALCS, Trey Yesavage wanted to say something first.
Before the microphones were passed around and before questions could come about the rookie sensation being named Toronto’s Game 2 starter, the 22-year-old made a statement about the “hate” received by his family and people close to him recently.
“Living in a world where there’s so many different opinions and feelings which result in a lot of hate, it’s sad to see that people close to me are being attacked for my performance on the field,” Yesavage said. “These people have done nothing to warrant this negativity from my actions. Whether that’s my parents, my brothers, my girlfriend, my family, it’s just really sad. I know I have the platform to address it, so I am. I hope that people can realize those people have nothing to do with what happens on the field. And if you have a problem, I’m a man. I can take whatever opinions anybody has about me and my life.”
That off his chest, Yesavage said he’d prefer to move on from the topic and get back to baseball.
While Yesavage didn’t share any details, it’s clear that this hate is not coming from fans in Toronto. He’s everyone’s new favorite Blue Jay, fresh off one of the greatest pitching performances in this organization’s postseason history, striking out 11 Yankees over 5 1/3 no-hit innings.
There was plenty of talk going into the ALDS against the Yankees about the “hostile” environment of Yankee Stadium; outfielder Nathan Lukes even mentioned that he switched his Instagram profile to private to block out Yankees fans.
Speaking soon after Yesavage, manager John Schneider commended his young starter for trying to protect the people close to him, adding it’s “unfortunate” that this is the reality Yesavage has dealt with since his performance in the ALDS.
“I give him a ton of credit for a guy that is 22 and just arrived in the big leagues and understands he has a really, really good support system around him and has a platform to talk about it,” Schneider said. “It adds to him and his maturity level, I think.”
Yesavage’s Game 2 start is scheduled for Monday at 5:03 p.m. ET, which should also set him up to be available later in this series for another start or bullpen appearance if needed.
