Toronto Blue Jays: Marcus Stroman doesn’t need defending

A collection of Toronto Blue Jays fans have taken issue with reporting from Marcus Stroman‘s comments following their latest loss to the Boston Red Sox.

When a team has a season like the Toronto Blue Jays have had frustrations are going to set in and that’s what happened with Marcus Stroman on Sunday.

After allowing three earned runs over five innings while striking out five and giving up a walk, Stroman took issue with a question asked at the end of the scrum with reporters.

Sportsnet’s Arash Madani asked the 27-year-old about his time with the Vancouver Canadians which prompted him to end the scrum. Not too long after Stroman went on a rant which included some profanity which was the subject to headlines by reporters in attendance.

Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic had a detailed account of the events which was also reported by Steve Buffrey of the Toronto Sun and Keegan Matheson of Baseball Toronto. 

Later that evening Stroman released a response to the articles written about his postgame remarks

Fans went on the defence for the starting pitcher stating that reporters took his comments out of context and unfairly attacked Stroman.

This is not the first time the media and Stroman have been at odds. Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star wrote on Monday that he hasn’t been able to speak with Stroman since writing a column about him in 2016.

What should be taken from this is the fact that fans are criticizing reporters for doing their jobs but in their eyes, they see it as them kicking the team when they’re down.

Stroman has the right to voice his opinion but when he says it with the media present it is going to be reported, it comes with the territory. If he doesn’t like what’s being reported he can clarify his message so that it isn’t taken out of context but that’s not what’s happening here.

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He is saying that reporters didn’t accurately report what he said but three outlets reported the exact same quote so it is tough to argue that case.

Again there is nothing wrong with a player voicing his frustration especially when the team is performing poorly. Aaron Sanchez used some colourful language in a scrum after a start back in May where he got pulled in the fifth inning.

There is no problem with a player showing emotion, unfortunately, athletes feel like they have to be guarded to avoid things being taken out of context or putting themselves in the spotlight.

In a situation like this, reporters are taking a bigger gamble because they have more to lose than the players themselves as Matheson tweeted out following Stroman’s statement against the story.

Fans who support the team or players should want fair, accurate and balanced reporting which can be tough to come across but this is not one of those cases.

So instead of picking a fight with the media, maybe look at why those comments were made and why it got to this point.

Next: Kevin Pillar adds to injury woes

What are your thoughts on the Stroman situation? Let us know in the comments below.