Justin Verlander shouted a nasty message at Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora Tuesday night.
While the brief NSFW outburst was surprising, it was even more surprising how the situation arose.
The Houston Astros ace began the top of the second facing Adam Duvall. Before his second pitch, home plate umpire Pat Hoberg signaled a pitch-clock violation. Verlander complained that he had a pitch-com problem, and after the bat boy brought him a new one, Cora came out to weigh in on the matter, likely to ask that the violation stand, despite the com problem.
Verlander shouted something twice at Cora, sounding like “I didn’t shake that at-bat,” but Cora kept talking to Hoberg.
That led Verlander to tell him, “**** off, Alex.”
Cora clearly seemed taken aback by the insult, but Hoberg stepped in his path and waved his arms, taking control of the situation.
"Fuck off, Alex."
Justin Verlander with some words of encouragement for Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who came out in response to a pitch-com issue. pic.twitter.com/EPQuh86dwb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 23, 2023
Hot mics are everywhere in pro sports today, picking up even comments players make under their breath. Verlander didn’t exactly shout this at Cora, but he certainly wanted him to get the message.
MLB fans wasted no time reacting to Verlander’s nasty comment.
Serious irony that the Astros are having issues with an anti sign stealing device
— Built By 〽️otown 💪🫀🎶🏎️ (@MagicalMotown) August 23, 2023
Justin Verlander is a clown.
— Red Sox Digest (@RedSoxDigest) August 23, 2023
👀👀👀👀 F—-k off
Justin Verlander
Alex Cora https://t.co/CtwLY2SxwN— Baseball For Today ⚾️ (@BaseballFor2day) August 23, 2023
I’ve watched this 732 times
— D.Lee (@DL_Blackburn) August 23, 2023
Print. The. Shirts.
— Kevin Gonzales (@kevg13) August 23, 2023
Sure wish Alex Cora could get some of those boos that every team fanbase drops on us! He sure does deserve them!
— Lancer-Dancer (@moreofwag) August 23, 2023
