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Tampa Bay Rays Pitcher Pete Fairbanks Tells Story of Awful Fan Interaction

Originally posted on FanNation Fastball | By Brady Farkas | Last updated 7/18/23

The Tampa Bay Rays lost a tough game on Monday night to the Texas Rangers. In a battle of likely playoff teams, the Rangers won, 3-2, thanks to a walk-off wild pitch by Rays closer Pete Fairbanks.

After the game, speaking at his locker, Fairbanks addressed the mistake pitch but also addressed an awful interaction he had with a fan on social media:

He said that he was going to look at his phone to see a text from his wife when a message from a fan came up: "Tough way to lose, tough way to try and skirt the danger and put yourself in a spot to escape and then try and do too much and have it end like that. I'm still having a better night than the guy who told me he wouldn't bat an eye if I drank some bleach, so that's good. But just another day in the life of being on the losing end of the bullpen..."

That's just an awful look for that "fan," but in the age of social media, those interactions are unfortunately more common.

Fairbanks is having a great year for the Rays too, pitching to a 1.89 ERA over 19 innings.

For his career, he's 11-15 with a 3.24 ERA and has recorded 25 saves.

He was actually drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2019 before making his way to the Rays.

Tampa is currently 60-37 and in first place in the American League East. They lead the Baltimore Orioles by one game and will play the Rangers again on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on FanNation Fastball and was syndicated with permission.

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