Blue Jays’ Stroman responds to Eckersley’s celebration criticism

Joe Siddall, Cliff Floyd and Jamie Campbell discuss the reaction from the Boston television crew after Marcus Stroman struck out Eduardo Nunez.

Marcus Stroman has never been shy when it comes to showing his emotion on the mound, especially when he is putting together a dominant performance like he did against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

The 28-year-old pitched six shutout innings with six strikeouts as the Toronto Blue Jays went on to beat their AL East rival 6-1. And at different points in the game, Stroman celebrated some big plays, including a strikeout of Eduardo Nunez where he let out a big yell toward Boston’s dugout as he got out of the inning.

While there was little to no reaction from the Red Sox bench, NESN broadcaster and Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley took issue with Stroman’s antics.

“Oh please,” Eckersley said. “That’s tired.”

After the game, Stroman took to Twitter to respond to Eckersley’s comments, calling him a “hypocrite” because the former Oakland Athletics reliever was known for his own emphatic celebrations on the mound. Stroman also tweeted that the broadcaster’s comments are “always trash.”

For extra measure, Stroman tweeted out a photo of Roberto Alomar’s iconic home run off of Eckersley in Game 4 of the 1992 ALCS between the Blue Jays and Athletics.

“Every player has a dog in him,” said Blue Jays analyst Cliff Floyd.

“When you look at Stroman, that is who he is. I remember certain players when I played against them and when they strike you out or do something good they give you the fist pump. You never know, your emotions get the best of you sometimes, it’s just unfortunate when you have announcers get caught up and some things get said. Stroman is that guy who gets under your skin but that’s who he is.”

While Stroman’s swagger might rub some people the wrong way, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo appreciates his starter’s passion.

“I love it,” Montoyo told reporters after the game. “That’s who he is. And that’s why he’s that good.”

His teammates also expressed their support for the way Stroman brings extra emotion when he pitches.

“Oh, it’s contagious,” said Lourdes Gurriel Jr. “When you see a pitcher like that, like Stroman, he definitely pumps up everyone on the team. And you could see it out there in the way we played today.”

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