New York Mets player Jesse Winker had harsh words for the Milwaukee Brewers and the City of Milwaukee, according to The New York Post.
“As far as Milwaukee goes, I’ll hate them forever,” he told The New York Post.
“It’s part of sports. These fans, they can react to you however they want,” Winker said. “They pay the tickets. They’re the veins and the lifeblood of our sport. … But I’ll hate the city of Milwaukee forever.”
According to the Post, though, Winker admitted that he didn’t perform well when he was a Milwaukee Brewer in 2023, which the Post attributed to “offseason surgeries on his knee and a disc replacement.”
Because he was earning $8 million, he told the Post, he “felt obligated to play, and I didn’t perform” in Milwaukee.
In 2023, his only season with the Brewers, Winker appeared in 61 games, hitting a career-low .199 with 1 home run and 23 RBIs.
Milwaukee Brewers Fans Booed Jesse Winker, Reports Say
According to Sports Illustrated, the time Winker spent with the Brewers was “terrible.” SI reported that his comments blasting Milwaukee came after Brewers fans “booed him during the wild-card series.” The Post wrote that Winker also was “booed loudly by his own team’s fans” while a Brewer.
Sports Illustrated noted, “It’s a safe bet the feelings of hate between Winker and Milwaukee are mutual.”
One X user wrote, “Brewers fans have all the right to boo him. From always destroying us while against us, to being one of the worst hitters I’ve ever seen while in a Brewers jersey, and to forcing himself onto the ‘23 WC team. We have all the right to hate him.”
Wisconsin’s Lakeshore Chinooks wrote on X, “We got your back @cityofmilwaukee and @Brewers! In honor of Jesse Winker’s career batting average with the Brewers of .199, the Chinooks are offering the Jesse Winker Special: $1.99 General Admission Vouchers to any Monday-Wednesday home game in June.”
Others criticized Brewers fans. “The fact that Brewers fans won’t shut up about how Jesse Winker was terrible with them but good everywhere else is hilarious. Like, do they not realize,” wrote one person on X.
According to MLB.com, Winker’s 2023 stint with the Brewers was plagued by injuries.
“Spent the season with the Milwaukee Brewers after being acquired via trade on Dec. 2…Appeared in 61 games season, including 46 starts, all as the designated hitter…” the site says. “Hit .417 (5-for-12) with three RBI, two walks as a pinch-hitter…Endured two stints on the Injured List, May 30 to June 16 (cervical strain) and July 26 to Oct. 1 (back spasms/strained right quad).”
He is now an outfielder for the Mets.
Jesse Winker Got His Professional Baseball Start With the Cincinnati Reds
According to MLB.com, Winker, nicknamed “Bird,” was born in Buffalo, New York, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2012.
“Jesse Todd Winker…Has one daughter, Wren…Graduated from Olympia High School in Orlando, Fla…Committed to play for the University of Florida but chose to sign with the Reds…Was a member of Team USA’s 18 and under team in the summer of 2011…” MLB.com’s biography for Winker says.
“Tossed a shutout against Aruba…His father, Joe, runs a baseball training facility along with Dante Bichette…Was born in Buffalo…Moved to Orlando when he was eight years old…His older brother, Joey, was an outfielder/first baseman in the Dodgers organization from 2011-13,” the bio says.
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Mets’ Jesse Winker Trashes Milwaukee: ‘I’ll Hate Them Forever’