ARLINGTON, Texas – A flippant quip from Harold Reynolds not meant to offend has drawn the ire of Canadian baseball fans.
The former second baseman made a point of addressing the matter before Monday’s broadcast of Game 4 between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers, and he offered the following to anyone upset over what he said.
"Happy Thanksgiving, I’m sorry I upset everybody in Canada," Reynolds said in a brief interview. "That’s it."
During Sunday’s Game 3 between the Blue Jays and Rangers, Reynolds triggered some social media outrage by saying: "There’s not a lot of people that grew up playing baseball in Canada, they’re not used to catching a lot of balls in the stands."
Offended at the perceived slight to the country’s baseball prowess, Canadians reacted on Twitter, even prompting 1997 National League MVP Larry Walker to weigh in.
Walker and Reynolds spoke by phone Monday morning and joked about the matter, and the noted prankster from Maple Ridge, B.C., later had more fun with the whole thing on Twitter.
Joining Jamie Campbell on Blue Jays Central, Reyonlds said: "I had no idea the reaction I’m receiving because I’m not on social media, and so Larry calls me this morning and I’m like ‘what,’ I didn’t mean to offend anybody. I just thought it was part of the fun nature of the game. Sorry Canada if I offended you for that, I’m well aware of the players who have come out of there. …
"It was more of a joke and the fact that most people grow up playing hockey in Canada, I didn’t think it was that offensive. Obviously it was taken different."
Reynolds added that some Blue Jays players laughed at him.
"Dalton Pompey had a good time about it," he added. "He was like, ‘You know you can’t mess with us Canadians.’"
