Tim Anderson just cannot stop getting into it with the Royals. After last year when Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez glared at Anderson for cursing after a home run before the benches cleared, Anderson was at it again Wednesday. This time there's no Perez as he's out for the season with an injured UCL, but Anderson didn't miss the opportunity to celebrate against his division rivals once more.
In the fourth inning, Anderson hit his 50th career homer and punctuated it with a bat toss before making his way around the bases.
He also appears to shout something as he tosses the bat.
Whatever he said, the Royals clearly took issue with it, because Anderson was plunked by Royals pitcher Brad Keller in his next at-bat.
As Anderson talked to Royals catcher Martin Maldonado on his way to first, the benches cleared. Eventually, Keller received his first career ejection while Anderson got his fourth. The two sides congregated at first base, a bit of a departure from the traditional home plate scrum, but the result was more or less the same.
Anderson, who has a bit of history with a lot of people, also has some with Joe West. Last September, he bashed West, saying that "I don't have much to say about him. Everybody knows he's terrible," via NBC Sports. Perhaps that was in the back of West's mind when he tossed Anderson, unless he felt Anderson incited things with the initial flip, which would fly in the face of the "let the kids play" motto MLB is pushing.
Anderson has been among baseball's best players this year. He's batting .421 with an OPS of 1.063, and Wednesday's homer was his third. The situation on Wednesday got out of hand, but he'll definitely be back with a vengeance before long -- though the Sox don't see the Royals again until the end of May.
