After dropping the last two games to the Blue Jays, the Mariners bounced back with a huge 6-2 win in Game 5. The five-run rally in the eighth inning proved to be the game-changer for the Mariners. But for the Toronto Blue Jays, the real blow was not the defeat. Their star slugger, George Springer, took a nasty hit-by-pitch from Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo. The 1–1 sinker ran in and caught Springer hard, leaving him sprawled on the dirt for a few minutes in clear pain.

However, what made things worse and stirred considerable criticism was the reaction from the crowd. As Springer lay on the ground, Mariners fans kept booing him until he left the field. This unfortunate moment further sparked a debate about where to draw the line between passionate rivalry and basic sportsmanship.

“George Springer left the game after taking a pitch to the knee.” Jomboy Media shared the moment Springer gets HBP, but what’s not written in the caption is how the Mariners’ home park was cheering his injury and booing him out of the field.

Notably, the 95.6-mph sinker from Woo ran in more than Springer anticipated, clipping him on the back knee and sending him straight to the ground in obvious pain. And after a lengthy conversation with the Blue Jays’ training staff and manager John Schneider, it initially looked like Springer would be helped off the field right away…

Earlier in the game, Springer had delivered a clutch, game-tying RBI double off Matt Brash. That’s his 42nd career extra-base hit in the postseason, moving him past David Ortiz for fifth-most all time. That makes the situation even trickier for Toronto, because if the injury turns out to be serious and the team removes Springer from the ALCS roster, he’d automatically be ineligible for the World Series, just like Anthony Santander.

The Blue Jays will likely try to keep Springer on the roster through Game 6 and possibly Game 7 if there’s even a slim chance he could be ready for the World Series, because for a team already without Bo Bichette and Santander, losing Springer too would be a nightmare scenario. For now, fans are anxiously waiting for an update on just how bad that injury really is.

But what about the fans who booed Springer out? They are getting called out!!

Mariners’ fans get called out for insensitivity

Well, booing a rival player is nothing new in baseball and absolutely normal. However, is it the same when a player is down with injuries? “Absolute losers booing while he’s down, and then cheering and waving when he’s being helped off the field,” one user commented via X. Surely that’s a loser mentality for anyone who’s cheering on someone down. “That’s a shame,” another added. However, what could be the reason behind such behavior at the T-Mobile Park?

“Finally getting some comeuppance for that cheating,” one fan cleared the air. For the unversed, Springer was part of the 2017 batch of the Astros, the year when they were accused of a sign-stealing scandal. And for the Mariners fans, they still accuse Springer as a part of that. No, there’s nothing official, but it might be that the Mariners fans are showing their view this way. However, is it all only about the Mariners fans?

“There are a lot of Bluejay fans there, which can explain the booing,” one fan said. Yes, you heard that right, there are a lot of Jays fans in the stands. That serves to answer the question of who was on the target. Chances are likely that it’s both the Mariners and Jays fans booing Woo for hitting Springer and not the other way round.

“Ouch… that’s rough for the Jays. Hope he can recover quickly.” While the Jays would not love to lose Springer at this point, their delay in deciding with him could be another reason. Reportedly, they took nearly 20 minutes to decide that Springer could no longer continue. That delay could have triggered the fans to such a reaction.

Nevertheless, no matter what the reason, booing a player during his injury couldn’t be justified. But let’s take it as part of the baseball rivalry and wait for a positive update about Springer’s injury.