Toronto Blue Jays All-Star Alek Manoah and MLB Network analyst and former major league catcher Anthony Recker engaged in a Twitter feud on Wednesday after the latter made comments regarding the right-hander's off-field workout routine in a televised panel discussion about the best pitchers under the age of 30.
"Alek Manoah, I love you, Alek, just show me you're willing to put a bit more time in the gym and that you're going to be there consistently for a bit longer. I still love you," Recker said.
Recker went on to pick Triston McKenzie of the Cleveland Guardians as the under-30 starter he'd pick to start a franchise -- though he said he was limiting his picks to those 25 and under. He mentioned Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays, Cristian Javier of the Houston Astros, Spencer Strider of the Atlanta Braves along with Manoah as guys on his personal list to fall behind McKenzie.
After seeing the comments about the gym, the six-foot-six, 285-pound Manoah responded on Twitter, starting a back and forth between the two.
"Hey @Anthony_Recker my job isn’t to please you," Manoah, 25, said. "You are an outsider you don’t know me or my work ethic. What I do in the gym has clearly worked check the numbers, sucks you can’t say the same for yourself."
Recker, after seeing the tweet, responded: "Don’t let someone throw a video out of context at you and get you upset. You’re an incredible talent man and I’d love to see you make the most of that. I hope to see you continue to get better and be great for a long time. I wish I had even a tiny speck of the talent you do."
Manoah then countered: "You're just like everyone else. Love to talk and then wanna say sorry when you get called out. If you wanna see how an All Star, 1st team All-MLB, and CY young finalist trains."
Manoah was 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA last season -- his second in the majors.
Recker, 39, played for the Oakland A's, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves from 2011-17. He slashed .199/.283/.348 for his 206-game career with 18 homers and 70 RBI.
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