John Gibbons found himself in Twitter hot water Tuesday night, over his knee-jerk comment on a new baseball rule.
A 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays had Gibbons fuming about the new rule on breaking up double plays.
"Maybe we’ll come out wearing dresses tomorrow," Gibbons said. "Maybe that’s what everybody’s looking for."
It didn’t take long for baseball fans to turn to Twitter.
Laurie K wrote: "Dear John Gibbons: not only am I plenty tough while wearing dresses to work, I can also run in heels. Call me when you can do the same Jays"
With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth inning, Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion hit a grounder to third. After taking a throw from Evan Longoria for the force at second, Logan Forsythe made an errant relay to first that appeared to allow the go-ahead run to score for Toronto.
Rays manager Kevin Cash asked for a replay review, claiming Jose Bautista violated the new "Chase Utley Rule" governing slides on potential double plays. Replay umpires in New York ruled Bautista’s slide was not directly into the bag and it illegally hindered Forsythe, a call that preserved Tampa Bay’s victory.
Matt Sussman tweeted: "dresses? baseball is a serious game. John Gibbons should keep his team wearing white pajamas with a cartoon bird on it"
Twitter user "Mr. Butter Chicken" added, on a similar note, "John Gibbons: ‘Maybe we’ll come out wearing dresses. Right now, I come out wearing a uniform even though I don’t play. I like to dress up."
