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5 hours ago
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When a player isn't doing what he's expected to in New York, fans will let them know. Right-hander Devin Williams of the New York Yankees has learned that the hard way in the early stages of the campaign, with many booing as he's blown multiple saves.
After acquiring Williams in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers during the offseason, the Yankees were hopeful that he'd continue to be the best closer in Major League Baseball. Instead, skipper Aaron Boone has already relieved him of his closer duty after posting an 11.25 ERA in the role.
The 30-year-old pitched against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night, allowing zero earned runs in a non-close situation. Perhaps all Williams needs is to see himself get a few outs.
Whether that happens or not will only be seen in the next few months, but pitching coach Matt Blake sent a message to fans regarding how they've treated Williams.
He said that it doesn't help, and Williams and others have to learn how to navigate that.
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“It definitely doesn’t help,” Blake said of the negative fan response, per The Athletic. “I think we’ve seen that over the years, whether it’s Clay (Holmes), (Aroldis Chapman), or whoever. Those things don’t help the situation get better. That’s the unfortunate part of how excited our fan base is when we’re winning, but the other side is it can be very polarizing.
“They voice their opinion when things aren’t going well. I think guys just have to learn how to navigate that. We’ve been hit or miss with that over the years. I think the earlier we can nip that in the bud and get him into a spot where we can stabilize — I felt like, Boonie, us, we all talked about it. Like, let’s not continue to push this if we don’t have to.”
It isn't easy hearing fans boo, but Williams will have to get used to it if he doesn't turn it around in the near future.
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