Rangers general manager Chris Young was crying foul over a social media post about his team made by an Astros reporter.
Young took offense to a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by MLB.com reporter Brian McTaggart after the beat writer compared the recent celebrations of two AL West rivals.
The Rangers celebrated with plenty of alcoholic showers in the clubhouse after their postseason-clinching win on Saturday with a victory over the Mariners.
But the next day, needing a win or an Astros loss, they failed to capture the AL West when neither occurrence happened.
The Astros, meanwhile, had a muted celebration when they clinched a spot on Saturday before they took the division crown on Sunday.
“The Rangers partied last night while the Astros had a champagne toast and quickly turned their attention to Sunday and one more win. Houston’s ‘been-there, done-that’ mentality paid off, it seems,” McTaggart wrote.
Young seemed to believe that McTaggart’s post implied that the Rangers’ revelry after their win impacted their performance the following day, and he blasted “poor journalism” during a radio interview on Monday.
“It’s pretty poor journalism to even suggest that, honestly,” Young told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, according to ESPN.
“I’m very disappointed in the lack of professionalism of the Houston journalist for putting that out there. It’s classless and it’s not appropriate and it’s completely fabricated. It’s wrong,” he continued.
The Astros didn’t waste any time poking fun at their rivals after they won the division, posting a video on X with the caption: “We celebrate titles in Houston.”
For his part, McTaggart later clarified his initial post, saying that he hadn’t been in the Rangers’ clubhouse during the celebration and that he “should not have indirectly suggested that their celebration impacted their performance on Sunday.”
However, a post by Houston radio station SportsTalk790 mocked Young’s comments by adding the GM’s recent comments over a video from inside the Rangers’ clubhouse of a somewhat emphatic celebration.
The entire controversy has irked Young, and he called it “ridiculous” that it was even a topic of debate.
“I find it ridiculous that that’s even a subject, honestly,” Young said. “This is the most professional, responsible group of players that I’ve ever been around. We had a very subdued champagne popping, but beyond that there was, there was no partying.
“There was nothing outlandish.”
The Rangers opened their pursuit of a World Series title on Tuesday with a 4-0 win over the Rays in the American League Wild Card Series opener.
Game 2 is slated to be played on Wednesday at Tropicana Field.
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