As part of a piece today attempting to detect Cliff Lee’s intentions as a 2011 free agent, Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY conducted a recent interview with Kristen Lee, the wife of the Rangers pitcher.
(Photo Credit: Misty May-Treanor, wife of Texas Ranger Matt Treanor)
As part of the interview, Mrs. Lee accused New York fans of unspeakably vile behavior at Yankee Stadium during the American League Championship Series.
Perhaps the Rangers’ greatest sales pitch simply was having Kristen sit in the visiting family section at Yankee Stadium during the playoffs. She says there were ugly taunts. Obscenities. Cups of beer thrown. Even fans spitting from the section above.
“The fans did not do good things in my heart,” Kristen says.
“When people are staring at you, and saying horrible things, it’s hard not to take it personal.”
Adding to the veracity of Kristen Lee’s claims was a photograph taken by the wife of Texas Ranger Matt Treanor, volleyball star Misty May-Treanor. In the picture, posted to May-Treanor’s Facebook account, she wrote the following caption:
Yep 3 Yankee fans that show respect…..spit anyone nothing like a shower of it. Thanks fellas very classy!
In the context of Lee’s impending free agency, it’s hard not to think that the soft spoken Arkansas native won’t weigh his wife’s discomfort in New York as he makes his decision on what team to sign with in 2011.
Add in the ugly imagery of Yankee fan behavior broadcast nationally during the 2010 playoffs and it isn’t unreasonable to think New York fans may have cost their own American League team a chance to land MLB’s top offseason free agent.
Those who dismiss the influence of player wives when it comes to free agency decisions as it pertains to New York must have a short memory.
The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reported in 2008 that Leigh Teixeira, wife of New York Yankee Mark Teixeira, played a notable role in his decision to throw in with the bombers:
Throughout his free agency, Teixeira solicited his wife’s opinion and she kept saying, “I just want you to be happy,” Teixeira recalled. On date night, Teixeira asked, “Everything’s equal, where do you want to go? She finally said, ‘I want you to be a Yankee.’”
… In the end, it was his wife who helped the Yankees get their new first baseman. “(Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman) Cash should give Leigh a hug,” Teixeira joked.
Sounding more and more like New York’s only chance to land Lee is if the only pants in the family are by Majestic. (With moisture-wicking!)
1:35 pm on October 26th, 2010
Yawn….of course Yankee fans are dumb and classless. We’ve known this for decades.
1:39 pm on October 26th, 2010
Douchebags as always. I thought they over priced these scumbags out to the nosebleeds…
1:50 pm on October 26th, 2010
Typical obnoxious, rude, a$$hole Stankee fans who think they are entitled to win the World Series every year. Guess what guy? YOUR TEAM IS OLD, OVERRATED, AND NOW YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LAND THE BEST FREE AGENT IN THE OFFSEASON. Oh and on a personal note (i’m a so Cal resident) I’ve been to Chicago, Boston and New York over the last 3 years and New York was BY FAR the worst city of those 3. Everything about that cesspool city is overrated!
1:59 pm on October 26th, 2010
Now i ain’t saying she’s a GOLD DIGGA
But she ain’t messing with no BROKE N***AS
2:24 pm on October 26th, 2010
Thats what you get for wearing those ridiculous colors in the bronx - im sure she wont have any problem forgetting about it after we pay him 150m to come to the bronx. Stop whining like every other woman and be aware of your surroundings.
2:28 pm on October 26th, 2010
to “ba” - you’re a complete moron…..what do you think this is a f’n spelling bee?
You idiot…..do you not think when we read this article that we won’t realize Teixeira is the same person as Texeira??
Again, what a f’n moron you are.
2:28 pm on October 26th, 2010
This has nothing to do with “Yankee fans” or the Yankees. Ass-holes come in all shapes and sizes. And they can be fans of any team or sport. I’ve been to regional games in several areas around the country and the typical fat, smelly pre-pubescent drunk d-bag can be found anywhere. The only common denominator is the complete lack of self respect, in personal hygiene and appearance. Their hunger for attention and approval helps give them validation for being obese losers. I’m not a Yankee fan but the previous comments by the Three Stooges sound like there coming from the same ilk.
Attention- “put the fork down and step away from the table”
2:37 pm on October 26th, 2010
Must be the offspring of those 80’s Yankee fans who left tacks under Ed Whitson’s tires.
2:54 pm on October 26th, 2010
yakeesare da best “..be aware of your surroundings”? Really? You think that anyone deserves to be spit on? Especially the wife of a player who, while being an opposing fan, is mainly there to support her husband? You are a disgrace and probably one of those classless disgusting fans that spit on those wives.
3:20 pm on October 26th, 2010
12th man - what a fitting name. You were probably werent loved by your parents and were the fat kid that never made the team. People need to be smart about what the kind of situations they put themselves in - everyone knows that.
4:05 pm on October 26th, 2010
Still doesn’t give anyone the right to spit on anyone else. Haven’t you “cultured” New Yorkers ever heard that there are communicable diseases out there?
4:23 pm on October 26th, 2010
I have traveled all around the world. I have been to all major U.S. cities, and New York is the most disgusting, vile place on the planet. Only New Yorkers could say “be aware of your surroundings.” I think you guys are like that because your city is dirty, and it smells like piss. It is the END of the Yankees. Can’t wait to see Cliff pitch for the Rangers next season!
4:27 pm on October 26th, 2010
HAHAHAHA what’d some girl or partner give you the gift that never stops giving. Use protection next time if you can find someone interested in you ever again. Im guessing its a constant struggle.
4:31 pm on October 26th, 2010
Yes, all yankee fans are like this. Only yankee fans, too. Unlike the borderline retarded folks that comment on here and other sites that say “Typical Yankee Fans!” even though they’ve met between 0-3 actual yankee fans in their entire life.
Also Don, I call Bullshit on your eloquent comment “Daaaahhh, New YoRk Is teh worstest!!!11″ if you included Boston on your list.
So what if Lee doesn’t sign? Yankees won the championship LAST YEAR. Stop acting like the Yankees are losers and always will be because they lost out on ONE FA. It’s cool, they’ll retool and beat Lee’s team next year hopefully.
Also if you’re in SoCal, shouldn’t you be working on your awesome tan, brah?
4:48 pm on October 26th, 2010
take it you havent been to baltimore, detroit, or philadelphia then - dont speak dude. Youre clearly a moron.
4:52 pm on October 26th, 2010
Go to Tampa and experience the idiot transplanted New Yorkers there. They behave as if they had never ever seen a baseball game in their life. I wouldnt go near the Trop for a Yankee game but for I love to watch baseball and I just hope I dont get drenched in beer or spat on if I wear a Rays shirt. I try not to take family members. I wish the Tampa police would come out in full force and hook everyone of the idiots up who misbehave. Just because you love the Yankees doesnt mean you have to hate all others.
5:00 pm on October 26th, 2010
youre lucky yankee fans in Tampa come to the games otherwise nobody would show up. Pretty sad you have a quality squad and the so called “fans” dont even support the team. I dont respect tampa baseball followers - i cant even call them fans.
6:41 pm on October 26th, 2010
She needs to pipe down, yankee fans will do worse next time we see her!
8:34 pm on October 26th, 2010
Well, I am a Dodger fan, who has to work with a TON of Yankette fans, and they are the absolute worst. They know nothing about any team other than their own, and they think all small market teams should be contracted. How very enlightened. Yankette fans awful behavior was on full display during the ALCS. I can’t “un-see” what I saw Yankette fans do during that series, and this is the cherry on top. How wonderfully ironic that those awful fans will keep Cliff Lee from playing in that rat infested hell hole they fleeced the tax payers for. The Yankettes motto: If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.
11:39 pm on October 26th, 2010
What those fans did was unspeakable and completely classless, but please don’t lump all New York fans into that category. Most of us are not like that and we have a real appreciation for the game. It’s a real shame that these people had to be what the world saw on TV during the ALCS and now on Facebook.
12:04 am on October 27th, 2010
enough talk about the yankees and their fans, they were BLOWN OUT like they never have been before, it wasn’t close and they are ELIMINATED…shut up and go play golf…
8:02 am on October 27th, 2010
As a lifelong Ranger fan, I am proud to make Yankee fans act as they do. 20-something MLB titles doesnt clean up the fact that NewYork males are the biggest douchebags on the planet. You idiot losers learned your behaviour from your Dads. They are the original NewYork douchers!! Suck it New York dads and all their kids.
11:40 am on October 27th, 2010
Lee will go to the highest bidder, and if it’s the Yankees, it wouldn’t matter if his wife had been murdered in the stands. $$$ talks.
12:18 pm on October 27th, 2010
Geo is the worse - his anger at fathers probably stems from his dads alcoholism and neglect once he realized what a disappointment GEO was going to be as a son. Or he has two mother figures. Either way one it just makes perfect sense.
1:17 pm on October 27th, 2010
I’m a Yankee fan in FL. What an embarrassment.
4:45 pm on October 27th, 2010
you’re whole family is an embarrassment.
12:21 am on October 28th, 2010
Yankeesare - can you just shut up unless you have anything intelligent to say. I’d really prefer not to be lumped in to the same category as people like you just because we’re both from NY. Actually, you never did say you were, so I can still hope you’re from Jersey or something. All you do is insult everyone else and most of it doesn’t even make sense. Does it make you feel better to say someone has 2 moms? Just stop.
7:57 am on October 28th, 2010
These freaks that are doing these unspeakable acts are a small percentage of the Yankee fan base, which in like any other city with an MLB team, tarnish the rest of the fans.
I want to know where the Yankee security staff was in all of this. Loud drunk and obnoxious assholes need to escorted out of the park, to go and sleep it off in the gutter where they belong.
If you were to spit on somebody on the street, you could be charged with battery, and these morons should face that same punishment.
If this is what “professional” baseball allows then fans should find other activities between spring training and October, then watch the league go into the crapper, where it certainly is unless it takes tough stance on this type of behavior, anywhere.
The Yankees spent a billion dollars on this new and beautiful stadium, now maybe they can spend some dough on some social skills training for the knuckle draggers that call themselves fans that show up at the games.
F*** all of you that feel a need to spit on others or support this type of behavior..
2:15 am on October 29th, 2010
I would never want to live in New York, it’s obvious by watching the yankee fans that New Yorkers are loud obnoxious assholes with no class. I was at game 3 in New York versus the Rangers. The yankees fans were throwing ice cream among other things on anyone wearing Rangers gear. We don’t do that ridiculous crap to you guys when you come to Texas, so we expect the same respect. Do you not realize all that does is make you guys look like filthy animals, grow up already and stop throwing a fit because your team sucks and taking it out on opposing fans. No one deserves to be spit on or have stuff thrown on them, we have just as much of a right to cheer for our team as you do and were not going to be intimidated by a bunch of asshole bullies because they can’t handle the fact that their team lost. If someone ever does that to me they will get a nice Texas ass whooping.New York and the Yankees are overrated, which the Rangers proved. Congratulations yankees fans, u just caused your team to miss out on one of best pitchers in the league and now u will loose again next year.
9:19 am on October 29th, 2010
nobody was throwing ice cream clown - I have season tickets and have gone to all playoff games the past 13 years and nobody gets stuff thrown at them unless youre dumb enough to sit in the bleachers and get loud and flaunt your jersey. And this is mostly loud red sox fans.
Go to philadelphia or Boston and you’ll see its a lot worse.