Rowdy Tellez made a lot of enemies in the Bay Area Thursday with some tough comments about San Francisco.
The veteran, who reached a one-year free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates this week, appeared on the Foul Territory podcast to talk about his deal and other topics.
Tellez talked about Shohei Ohtani’s new deal, then host Scott Braun mentioned the difficulty the San Francisco Giants have had in recruiting big-name free agents. The Giants reportedly offered Ohtani the same deal he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
When Braun asked Tellez whether there is a “stigma” associated with the Giants, the slugger jumped right in with his take. A native of the Sacramento area, about two hours away, Tellez said he’s spent plenty of time in the city.
“We’re only sub-2 hours from there,” Tellez said. “For me, the city man, it’s just bad. I grew up going to Giants games, we took BART [rapid transit] into the city and it was fine. The last 10-12 years, man, it’s just been a bad city. It’s not nice anymore. It’s not clean. It’s hardly safe.”
https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1735448351892553882
There’s some truth to what Tellez said about San Francisco. Videos of criminals running wild in the city routinely go viral on social media, along with the latest trend, where stores lock up even toilet paper. Stories of the city being in a “death spiral” have appeared in USA Today, CNN and elsewhere.
Even San Francisco Mayor London Breed noted in a fiery 2021 speech that, “It is time for the reign of criminals to end. And it comes to an end when are we more aggressive with law enforcement and less tolerant of all the ******** that has destroyed our city.”
So while San Francisco residents can debate how to solve their problems, it’s not polite for outsiders to bad-mouth the city. Tellez’s assessment of San Francisco infuriated many prominent media figures from the Bay Area.
As much as it pains me to defend SF, it’s no different than any other large city. The only crime that sticks out is property crime (i.e. not violent). This is bordering on mass hysteria, all because of old and intentionally misleading F*x N*ws talking points. 🤪 https://t.co/Gpj72UZQHS
— Bill Baer (@Baer_Bill) December 14, 2023
The Giants are scooping up everyone in the greater Sacramento area, but this guy is NOT invited. My dude, you played in Milwaukee for three years. Look up their violent crime rates. https://t.co/EebmBozo9h
— Grant Brisbee (@GrantBrisbee) December 14, 2023
Wonder where he gets his ‘news’ https://t.co/akVCZDMGC6
— Monte Poole (@MontePooleNBCS) December 14, 2023
The actual narrative is that the Giants aren’t offering people enough money so they aren’t signing there. This has been an absolutely insane storyline lmao https://t.co/lsOdAAso5d
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) December 14, 2023
In terms of distance, calling someone from Elk Grove a Bay Area native is like saying someone from Philadelphia is from New York City. https://t.co/JlfVYuesY2
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) December 14, 2023
Embarrassing to see so many people falling for propaganda. I live in San Francisco. It’s still beautiful. It’s still packed. Do yourself a favor and look up crime statistics and SF ranks better than a whole lot of other MLB cities. https://t.co/zxMTWW85y6
— Ben Ross (@BenRossTweets) December 14, 2023
“Bay Area native” who was born in Sacramento and played high school ball in Elk Grove
Literally HOURS from anywhere that would remotely be considered the Bay Area
Why even lie about something like this, it’s beyond pathetic https://t.co/VbSqDFnh0t
— Jordan Elliott (@splash_cousin) December 14, 2023
As fate would have it, Tellez and the Pirates visit San Francisco for a three-game series starting April 26. Tellez had best be prepared for a rude welcome.
