Tony La Russa Doubles-Down On His Criticism Of Yermin Mercedes For Hitting Home Run On 3-0 Pitch

Tony La Russa is in a complete disagreement with a lot of his players, fans and members of the media. La Russa took issue with designated hitter Yermin Mercedes hitting a home run on a 3-0 pitch while facing a position player on Monday night.

When the Twins threw at Mercedes the following night, La Russa even said that he has no problem with it. Amid all the noise, Sox shortstop Tim Anderson took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the manager not having one of his players’ backs.

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Tim Anderson Responds To Tony La Russa Not Standing Up For Yermin Mercedes After He Was Thrown Athttps://t.co/u8EG9FWJwm

— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) May 19, 2021

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After the backlash, La Russa is still holding firm on his take that Mercedes was wrong to swing in that position, and he will face consequences.

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Tony La Russa stands his ground on criticism of Yermin Mercedes saying it was mistake to swing on 3-0 pitch in 15-4 game.His rule of thumb: "Do you think you need more [runs] to win, you keep pushing. If you think you have enough, respect the game and opposition. Sportsmanship.''

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 19, 2021

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More Tony La Russa: "If you're going to tell me that sportsmanship and respect for the game of baseball and respect for your opponent is not an important priority, then I can't disagree with you more.''

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 19, 2021

Tim Anderson wasn’t the only Sox player to stand up for Yermin Mercedes despite what Tony La Russa thinks. Pitcher Lance Lynn also said that there should be no problem with a hitter swinging in that spot.

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Lance Lynn on unwritten rules:

"If a position player is on the mound, there are no rules. Let's get the damn game over with. And if you have a problem with whatever happened, then put a pitcher out there."#WhiteSox

— Ryan McGuffey (@RyanMcGuffey) May 19, 2021

Of course, La Russa disagrees wholeheartedly with Lynn, and pretty much everybody else.

“Lance has a locker. I have an office,” La Russa said before Wednesday’s game. “I don’t agree.”

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