MIAMI – Carlos Gomez might have made the loudest bang Wednesday at Marlins Park when he took out his frustration on two water coolers inside the Tampa Bay Rays dugout, smashing them repeatedly after striking out.
The former Twins outfielder felt he was hit by a pitch in the second inning, but home plate umpire Chris Segal saw it differently, ruling the pitch struck Gomez's bat for a strike. When Gomez then struck out, he took out his anger inside the dugout, pounding one water cooler with his fist and slamming another with his bat, sending water spraying onto the field and in the dugout.
"He squared it up pretty good, it sounded like," Miami shortstop J.T. Riddle said. "You look over and you see water flying up and you think it's probably a water cooler he's taking down. Some people handle their frustrations in different ways."
Said Gomez, who's hitting just .195 this season: "We are human. We can get mad. It doesn't mean we're not professional. It's that moment. If they fine me for this, I've got enough money to pay."
News services
