The bad blood between Detroit Tigers right-hander Mike Fiers and New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton goes back several years, and on Monday, another chapter was added.
Fiers was the pitcher who hit Stanton in the face back in September 2014, resulting in several facial fractures and ending his season. During the third inning of the second game of a doubleheader, Fiers hit Stanton in the elbow, leading to words being exchanged between the pair.
Stanton would get his revenge in the sixth, destroying a 456-foot home run off Fiers. As soon as the ball left the bat, Stanton took his time to admire the shot and pointed at Fiers as he crossed home plate.
After the game, Fiers expressed his frustration with Stanton's antics.
"I understand that he's pissed, but the way he handled it was kind of childish," Fiers said, according to Evan Woodbery of MLive. "Anybody watching this game knows I'm not throwing at him. He's going to act how he's going to act, but it kind of shows his character. Obviously I wasn't throwing at him."
Stanton said he didn't appreciate being hit once again by Fiers whether it was intentional or not.
"(No) matter how many years it is (being hit in the face) ... you're not going to be happy," he said, according to Randy Miller of NJ.com. "I'm not going to just walk to first and everything is going to be OK. But it is what it is."
Fiers was remorseful after hitting Stanton in the face in 2014, taking to Twitter to offer his apologies.
"I am deeply sorry about what happened tonight," Fiers tweeted at Stanton in 2014. "I can't imagine what you and your family are going through. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. I feel horrible and hope for a speedy recovery.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)
