NEW YORK — Tim Anderson said everything he had to say with one swing of the bat — and a commanding trot around the bases. (Watch the video below.)
Anderson hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and then put a finger to his lips to silence fans booing and chanting “Jackie” at him, capping a tumultuous weekend and helping the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Yankees 5-0 Sunday night for a doubleheader sweep.
Anderson appeared to tell the crowd to “shut the fuck up!” after his trot around the bases.
“What a day,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said.
A day after Anderson, who is Black, accused Yankees slugger Josh Donaldson, who is white, of making a racist remark by calling him Jackie Robinson, the All-Star shortstop didn’t play in the first game. AJ Pollock hit a tiebreaking homer off Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning as the White Sox won 3-1.
Anderson was jeered during pregame introductions and prior to each at-bat in the nightcap. White Sox starter Michael Kopech said he heard fans chanting “Jackie” at Anderson in the second game.
Anderson had already hit two singles when he homered over the right field wall with two outs, finishing off a five-run inning.
Anderson took a slow trot and put his hands to his lips in a shushing gesture as he rounded the bases. He clapped his hands several times upon crossing home plate and pointed skyward before again making a silencing motion.
“I think that was just one of the cooler things I’ve seen — watching an entire crowd that’s shown low class towards him, booing him, calling him ‘Jackie’ and then hitting a homer and putting us in a good position to win,” Kopech said. “Have nothing but respect for him.”
Anderson did not speak to reporters before or after the doubleheader.
“When you talk about how special he is, just think about the game he had under those circumstances,” La Russa said. “It’s special.”
Donaldson also did not speak to reporters. Through a Yankees spokesman, Donaldson said he had not talked to Major League Baseball about the situation and didn’t talk speak to Anderson on Sunday.
There didn’t appear to be any carryover on the field in either game from the previous afternoon’s anger and tension when the benches and bullpens emptied. Donaldson acknowledged Saturday he called Anderson “Jackie” — a reference to the pioneering baseball icon that elicited criticism from both managers.
Donaldson said it was part of an inside joke with Anderson because the White Sox player once called himself “today’s Jackie Robinson” in an interview. MLB is investigating the incident.
“He deserves the recognition and he deserves the respect,” La Russa said of Anderson. “If somebody disrespects him, he should get upset. I know I would.”
La Russa said Donaldson’s comment was “racist” following Saturday’s game, a 7-5 Yankees win. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday he believed Donaldson didn’t mean any harm with his words, but thought using such a term was “…somewhere he should not be going.”
Kopech returned from paternity leave Friday after going home to witness the birth of his second child. He retired the first 17 batters before Rob Brantly doubled in the sixth.
“To be honest, my mind hasn’t been on baseball until yesterday, and that probably helped me quite a bit,” Kopech said.
