Cubs ace Marcus Stroman had the perfect response to his haters on Opening Day, particularly against one semi-celebrity he was feuding with for the last few weeks.
Chicago Cubs’ Marcus Stroman threw a curveball at one of his most public haters on Twitter, sending Barstool founder Dave Portnoy into the dunk tank with his dominant Opening Day performance.
In the Cubs’ 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, Stroman etched his name into history when he was called for the MLB’s first ever pitch-clock violation. Other than becoming an unfortunate bit of baseball trivia, Stroman picked up right where he left off in 2022 and worked six scoreless innings against the Brewers.
The former Golden Glove winner has nothing to prove, much less to the founder and president of Barstool Sports out of all media outlets, yet Stroman didn’t think twice about rubbing his win all over Portnoy’s face.
Dave Portnoy and Stroman were feuding during the WBC when Stroman, who opted to play for Team Puerto Rico, brought up Barstool blogger Kevin Clancy’s (known as KFC Barstool) history of racist comments.
Ahead of the Cubs’ opening game, Portnoy tweeted that he was planning to bet against “that crybaby” Stroman out of “principle.”
So after Stroman had a pitching performance for the ages, he went scorched earth on Portnoy after the win:
Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman unleashes his fury on Barstool’s Dave Portnoy
Stroman called Portnoy privileged, petty, soft, and a “proud boy,” which likely alludes to the conservative right-wing group founded by Gavin McInnes in 2016.
Portnoy does have an infamous reputation for supporting Donald Trump and other right-wing figures along with other incendiary takes on social media, and he’s become one of those love-him or hate-him sports media personalities who just won’t ever change.
The Stroman-Portnoy beef aside, the Cubs were probably pleased with what they saw in their first game of the season as Stroman breezed through innings and Danby Swanson had three hits in his Chicago debut.
Last season, Stroman posted a 3.50 ERA and 119 strikeouts and remains in the prime of his career; his Twitter activity is his own business, but as long as he’s performing well on the mound, the Cubs won’t have anything to complain about.
Make no mistake, this feud between Stroman and Portnoy is not going away. At the start of the season, the score is Stroman — 1, Portnoy — 0. Just let the baseball do the talking.