Adrian Beltre really, really hates it when someone touches his head and his Red Sox teammates did it so much in the dugout last season that there’s a website filled with video clips of him freaking out.
He changed teams during the offseason and signed a five-year, $80 million contract, but that won’t keep his new teammates from picking up the head-touching slack. In fact, as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com writes various Rangers are already making a habit of exploiting Beltre’s weird … I dunno, I guess phobia?
For instance, here’s Elvis Andrus:
Oh yeah … a bunch of times. He better get used to it. He might kick my tail, but I’m going to do it.
And now reigning MVP Josh Hamilton:
Guys just find out and everybody knows about Adrian. You can tell we get him to a point where he might lose it and then we back off. You don’t want it to come to a point where he doesn’t want to come to work because he feels tormented. I have to get to know him better, but that day’s coming.
Yes, you wouldn’t want to rub a man’s head without getting to know him better first.
The primary head-rubbing culprit in Boston was Victor Martinez, so at least Beltre is free from him. He’s still holding onto that grudge, though:
Sometimes I thought about killing him. But I thought about it. I have a family so I didn’t.
Beltre tried to tell Sullivan that the whole head-rubbing thing is actually “no big deal,” but there are a few dozen highly amusing video clips to suggest otherwise and a whole clubhouse full of brand new teammates don’t immediately take such glee in tormenting someone about something unless it’s a pretty big deal for them. Unfortunately for Beltre, he’s probably long past the whole “act like it doesn’t bother you” thing being an effective deterrent.
