The Tampa Bay Rays, fresh off claiming the American League East division title on Wednesday night, made fun of the New York Yankees in a clever way. Players were seen wearing a T-shirt with the message “whole damn stable,” which Bombers’ fans know the reference very well.
The theme of the T-shirt stems from the confrontation between the Rays and the Yankees back on September 1, when Aroldis Chapman pitched behind Mike Brosseau and later received a three-game suspension. Back then, both teams emptied the benches and exchanged words and insults.
“It’s ridiculous. Enough is enough. … It was mishandled by the Yankees. Poor judgment. Poor coaching. Poor teaching. Somebody has to be accountable and the last thing I’ll say is I have a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph,†Rays manager Kevin Cash say after Chapman’s pitch. Those comments were viewed as a threat back then, with games remaining in the series between the Yankees and Rays.
A familiar foe of the Yankees celebrated with one of the shirts
One of the Rays players that was seen wearing the shirt was Charlie Morton, who was also in the Houston Astros team that defeated the Yankees in 2017 and went on to win the World Series that year.
“It was in my locker last week and I like horses. … I rode when I was younger,†Morton said, per the New York Post. “I was ecstatic to see this shirt in my locker so I wore it.â€
Morton also noted, “We’ve got some guys that throw really hard. There’s a premium on that nowadays, especially.â€
Yankees manager Aaron Boone and Cash both received one-game suspensions after the incident.
The Rays went on to win the regular season series against the New York Yankees eight to two.
For now, the Rays are celebrating their deserved, hard-fought division title. It remains to be seen who will be laughing when all is said and done.