Nike is woke, baseball players are coddled, and everyone should carry a gun — or so says retired New York Yankees pitcher David Wells.
The slim 60-year-old left-hander joined Derek Jeter and a few other members of the 1998 world champion New York Yankees at Old Timers Day in the Bronx on Saturday, where he complained about everything from the culture to awake” to the current club. struggles.
“We’re in a different world,” Wells told reporters while donning a Yankees jersey with a piece of tape covering the Nike logo. ‘It’s rubbish. This is why everyone should carry a gun.
A beer-guzzling left-hander and smooth player who became one of the most successful pitchers of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Wells lost weight and became healthier in retirement.
But even without his famous weight, Wells remains one of the most outspoken characters in the game.
Nike is woke, baseball players are coddled and everyone should carry a gun, David Wells said.
Take, for example, MLB’s decision to allow the Nike logo on jerseys.
“I hate Nike,” Wells said while wearing one of the brand’s Yankee jerseys, but with the logo covered in white ribbon. “They’re awake.”
And like many conservatives, the Southern California native is also at odds with Bud Light after the brand included transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in an Instagram post.
When asked if he would drink Bud Light again, Wells said “no,” according to Athleticism.
But Wells reserved his harshest words for the current Yankees, who sit in last place in the American League East at 70-72 and face their first losing season since 1992.
David Wells’ Yankee jersey had a piece of white tape covering the Nike logo on Saturday
Without naming anyone, Wells seemed to imply that manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman were not responsible for the struggles, all of which he blamed on current players.
“It always seems like (general managers) and managers and everything else gets fired and blamed for it, and it’s (the players’ fault),” Wells said.
“If you don’t do the work on the ground and if I were general manager, I would start sending a message.”
Several Yankees players have disappointed this season, including pitcher Carlos Rodon, who arrived in New York as a free agent after signing a six-year, $162 million contract. Since then, he has battled injury issues making just 10 starts and driving in 34 runs in just 46.1 innings for a 6.60 ERA.
For Wells, the answer is simple: send struggling players to the minors.
“I don’t care who it was, if he was in the stink hole – pardon my French, if you can say that now,” he said. ‘I don’t know. But send that son of a gun to Triple-A or Double-A and send him a wake-up call.
Wells recalled an instance where catcher Jorge Posada slammed him against a wall after a bad outing.
Now, Wells believes, such an act would be a scandal in the clubhouse.
“He slammed me against the pillar and punched me in the face, but I respected him,” Wells said. ‘He told me, ‘You gave up.’ And it pissed me off because I never gave up, we just get our ass kicked every once in a while.
“But for me, that’s what we don’t see anymore. We don’t see the guys facing each other. And it’s not a personal thing. You’re here to win, and that’s what they’re trying to do, and I think from my perspective, they don’t have that kind of camaraderie anymore.
David Wells celebrates his perfect game against the Twins at Yankee Stadium in 1998
Wells began his career as a middle-of-the-road starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers, but began to see some success in 1995 when he earned the first of three All-Star nominations. He would eventually be traded to Cincinnati that season before joining Baltimore as a free agent in 1996, then, more famously, the New York Yankees in 1997.
He pitched a perfect game for the Yankees in 1998, en route to their second World Series title.
But before the following season, Wells would be sent back to Toronto in a deal for Cy Young winner Roger Clemens.
However, Wells wasn’t done and was named to the AL All-Star team in 2000 before returning to the Yankees and in 2002 finally finishing his career in 2007 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
