All-Star Alek Manoah blasts MLB Network analyst for comments about his work ethic
MLB Network's Anthony Recker has come under fire for his comments about Blue Jays All-Star RHP Alek Manoah on Wednesday's "MLB Tonight."
Asked which under-30 starter he'd want to start a franchise with, Recker selected Cleveland's Triston McKenzie over Tampa Bay's Shane McClanahan, Houston's Cristian Javier, Atlanta's Spencer Strider and Manoah. He briefly explained why he wouldn't choose the first three but explained more in-depth why he wouldn't choose Manoah.
“Alek Manoah, I love you, Alek. Just show me you're willing to put a bit more time in the gym and that you're going to be there consistently for a bit longer. I still love you," Recker said.
It didn't take long for Manoah to discover Recker's remark after a snippet from the segment spread on Twitter.
The pitcher didn't hesitate to respond.
Recker replied to Manoah's tweet telling him not to be upset about the out-of-context video and that he wishes he had a "tiny speck of the talent" he possessed. In a second tweet, Recker added that he didn't mean to offend Manoah.
The praise and apology didn't change Manoah's mind as he was clearly bothered that Recker tried to downplay his statement now that Manoah confronted him.
"You're just like everyone else. Love to talk and then wanna say sorry when you get called out. If you wanna see how an All Star, 1st team All-MLB, and CY young finalist trains. Come meet me @ManoahDriven," Manoah wrote.
Manoah Driven, the Miami gym owned by the Homestead, Florida native, joined in on the Twitter beef, posting videos of Manoah to prove he's been training hard this offseason.
Fellow MLB pitchers also came to Manoah's defense. Blue Jays teammate Anthony Bass quote tweeted a GIF of a tense Grammy Award-winner DJ Khaled eating popcorn, while Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman decided to get personal.
Although Recker's job as an analyst is to critique players, Stroman, like Manoah, didn't fail to mention that Recker wasn't a productive player during his MLB career.
Recker spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues as a catcher. His longest stint was with the Mets from 2013-15. He has a .199 batting average, 18 HRs, 70 RBI, 76 wRC+ (league average is 100) and a -1.6 fWAR for his career, according to FanGraphs.
Since debuting in May 2021, Manoah, 25, has already accomplished more than Recker did in his playing career and has developed into an exciting front-line starter. His 2.24 ERA this season ranked fourth among qualified MLB pitchers, and his 5.9 bWAR was fifth, per Baseball-Reference.
As he stated on Twitter, Manoah was a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award this season and earned his first All-Star selection and All-MLB First Team honors. Manoah will likely be Toronto's Opening Day starter.
On Thursday, Recker tweeted at Manoah that he'd like to get the opportunity to talk to him and asked him to reach out. Manoah's yet to reply publicly, but perhaps they hashed it out in their DM's.
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