SEATTLE — Basking in the glow of their Crosstown Series win, White Sox players were too busy replaying clips of Edgar Quero walking off the Cubs to spend time on the viral video of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s offensive response to a heckler Sunday at Rate Field.
But they’re no strangers to the sort of vitriol that gets peppered from the stands onto any player within earshot.
“You can’t tune everything out,” said Andrew Benintendi, who has gotten more than his share of earfuls in 11 seasons. “You’ll hear things I’m sure you don’t like, but whatever.
“It’s just words.”
That’s where a healthy dose of Zen is vital for any big-leaguer to cope with the torrents of verbal abuse from fans who are more emboldened in the age of social media, according to the veteran.
“You can crap-talk a player or whatever — that stuff’s going to happen,” Benintendi said. “There’s definitely a line … and, obviously, I think fans now cross that line a lot more than they used to. So I guess every player has their own line, so they have to determine what that is.”
Miguel Vargas, who roped the two-run double that preceded PCA’s outburst, hadn’t seen the video, but he said he has come close to losing his temper with rowdy fans in the past.
“I feel a line between respect and disrespect, and I think sometimes people out there don’t know [they] crossed the line,” Vargas said. “And it’s hard to hear that sometimes from fans when you’ve got a family, especially [when your family are] in the stands sometimes too. But we’ve got a great atmosphere with the fans out there.”
The comments that got PCA riled up didn’t seem to come anywhere near the personal attack that brought Diamondbacks infielder Ketel Marte to tears at Rate Field last summer when a fan insulted his late mother.
The usual fan slander is generally light-hearted and will often get a smile from outfielder Derek Hill, who never ceases to be amazed by fans’ energy.
“People are very passionate about their teams, and we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Hill said. “It’s pretty crazy how much people love their sports teams. I mean, we all feel it. I love the Chargers and my Chargers are doing good — we all fall into the habits, you know?”
Hill said his first Cubs-Sox experience was the most ballpark energy he has felt since arriving on the South Side late last season. Wherever he plays, he knows customers will try to get their money’s worth.
“People come out to the games for a lot of different reasons,” Hill said. “You’ve got some people who come out just because they love the games. People come out because they had a bad day and they want to blow off some steam. Hey, you pay the money to come see us play — cool, do whatever you want to.”