It’s safe to say that there’s no love lost between the Yankees and Royals.
With the competitive stakes being at their highest during the playoffs, it’s no surprise that professional athletes are becoming too caught up in the moment as they let their emotions bubble over. In Game 4 of the ALDS matchup between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, tempers flared between the two teams after Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia slid in hard towards Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe in a failed attempt to break up a double play.
Garcia then had some words with Volpe, which then prompted the entire Yankees and Royals benches to clear in an effort to separate the two and prevent the skirmish from devolving into a full-blown altercation. It was Gleyber Torres who quickly pulled Garcia to the side before the entire rosters for both teams made it to the field.
Benches clear during Game 4 in Kansas City between the Royals and Yankees. pic.twitter.com/2tpU77IFPf
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2024
The good news is that, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN, “no punches were thrown”. The last thing both the Yankees and Royals need is to let their emotions get the best of them and put each other in harm’s way. The lights may be at their brightest in the playoffs, but inflicting physical harm is no way to get one’s point across.
Regardless, the play that triggered the skirmish in and of itself wasn’t deplorable whatsoever. Garcia was well within his rights as a baserunner to slide in hard, and it’s not as though he put his studs up in a deliberate attempt to hurt the Yankees shortstop. Meanwhile, Volpe was simply doing his job in getting the lead runner out, having to stretch towards his left to make sure he got the tag as Garcia slid in beside him.
In playoff baseball where mere inches can decide which team advances to the next round, players are incentivized to give it their all. At the very least, the Yankees and Royals eventually came to a mutual understanding that these hustle plays are part of the ballgame and that both teams are simply pouring their hearts out on the field.
The Yankees and Royals continue trend of emotionally-charged playoff baseball
It feels as though this year’s playoffs has brought more emotional fireworks than usual. There have been plenty of late-game heroics, incredible defensive plays, and stellar pitching performances that have taken fans, as well as the players themselves, on an emotional rollercoaster. The Yankees and Royals continued to show this by almost engaging in a full-blown brawl.
In Game 2, fans at Dodger Stadium notoriously threw objects towards the vicinity of Fernando Tatis Jr. as they expressed their displeasure over how events had transpired. Jurickson Profar also notably robbed a home run in nonchalant fashion as he chirped towards fans, egging them on even further. Meanwhile, Manny Machado, ever the instigator, threw a baseball towards the Dodgers dugout in what was perceived by many to be a retaliatory act of sorts.
Now, the Yankees and Royals’ series hasn’t gone this far. But with Jazz Chisholm Jr. basically calling the Royals lucky to win Game 2 of the ALDS, it’s fair to say that there is no love lost between these two teams.
The Yankees, in the end, advanced to the ALCS with a 3-1 win over the Royals in Game 4.
