Cleveland Indians infield Yu Chang shares some of the racist comments he received on Twitter.
After making a throwing error in the Cleveland Indians‘ loss to the division rival Chicago White Sox, infielder Yu Chang received several disturbing racist messages on Twitter.
Cleveland fell to Chicago on Monday night after the Taiwanese first baseman hit Yasmani Grandal with his throw when trying to record a force out at second. Rather than stepping on the first base bag to record the second out of the ninth inning, the ball ricocheted off Grandal’s helmet, allowing Nick Madrigal to score the game-winning run for the South Siders. Cleveland lost, 4-3.
On Tuesday morning, Chang revealed some of the racist messages he received after the error. It featured three racist-laden comments from accounts that have now either been deleted or have gone private. Anti-Asian hate has picked up in the United States in recent months.
Cleveland Indians infielder Yu Chang received racist comments after a loss
Chang has spent his entire big league career in Cleveland, but this is the first season he has played first base in the MLB. While trying to get the force out at second is justifiable, he should not be subjected to this hatred.
Despite the road loss to the White Sox, Cleveland is in a first-place tie with the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central at 5-4. Last year saw three teams from the AL Central qualify for the expanded postseason field, including Cleveland. However, none of those three teams who qualified (Chicago, Cleveland, Minnesota) advanced past the AL Wild Card series in the postseason.
It does not matter if Chang made a mistake, there is no place for racism in Major League Baseball.