The Yankees had high hopes starting the 2023 season when the team picked up starting pitcher Sonny Gray in a deal with Cincinnati, parting with prospect right fielder Jason Dominiguez and future reliever Luis Angel Medina. Gray added significant depth and experience to the New York starting rotation. Gray initially expressed some concerns playing for the Bronx bombers.
“I loved the fans in Cincinnati. I know Yankees fans are the most loyal, but I was a little concerned about the rumors of, you know, that crazy guy,” he told reporters.
Gray was, of course, referring to the fan-troll, sometimes stalker, known around the Big Apple only as Markus. A season ticket holder, Markus doesn’t always attend games, but when he does sit in his assigned Seat 1 in Section 1 right at the Yankees dugout, he is close enough to bother the players both in the dugout and on the field, and he often causes problems.
Markus was quiet on April 1, 2023, during Sonny Gray’s debut at Yankee Stadium. “I was really worried that day that crazy Markus would get me off my game with heckling. He wasn’t even there, but I didn’t pitch my best that day,” Gray recounted.
He opened the first inning by striking out the first three batters he faced. He struck out two more in the second inning. His nerves got to him a little in the third, when we walked 3 batters, but got through the inning. He actually had a no hitter going until the 6th inning, when he looked over and saw Markus take his seat. That was enough to break Sonny’s rhythm. He gave up 4 runs on 5 hits that inning and left the game. The Yankees lost the game, but Gray received no decision.
“I was relieved when I looked at the schedule and saw my next game would be a road game in Toronto. I could redeem myself,” Sonny said.
It was a moderate 63 degrees in Toronto on April 6th, but the roof of Rogers Center was closed, which made it really easy to hear the fans that evening. Gray did doing reasonably well through the first two innings. The game was scoreless at the top of the 4th. Gray easily struck out the first batter, Logan Warmoth, in three pitches. However, he lost his train of thought with the next batter, left-handed hitter Will Robertson. After the first three pitches were balls, Gray threw a fastball down the middle for a called strike.
“That’s when it happened!” a frustrated Gray described. “As I was throwing that fifth pitch to Robertson, I heard Markus in the crowd yell out something about my mother!”
Gray threw a fourth ball, and Robertson took his base, but something was wrong with Gray. “My arm hurt so bad. I tightened up when I heard Markus say those horrible things.”
The team would later release that Markus pulled his triceps and would be out at least 5 weeks.
That’s all the past, though. Gray has had three successful outings in AAA Scranton, and has rejoined the team. Yankees manager Jose Oquendo announced that he had slated Gray to start on May 23, against the Minnesota Twins in the second of the four-game series at Target Field.
“I’m confident that Gray has fully recovered. That jerk Markus has caused us enough trouble over the years. He should stay away from my Yankees” Baker cursed before boarding the charter flight to Minnesota from Tampa Bay, where the Yanks had just finished a three-game sweep of the Rays.
“We started off a bit slow after Gray went down. We’ve been on a roll recently, and I expect Gray’s return to only make that brighter. The Red Sox better watch out now!” Oquendo told reporters after the 9-5 win.