SURPRISE, Ariz. – Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington wasn't taking the Josh Hamilton bait Monday.
Hamilton told Fort Worth television station CBS 11 Sunday that the Metroplex isn't a baseball town.
"Texas, especially Dallas, has always been a football town," he said in an interview with Gina Miller. "The good with the bad is they're supportive, but they also got a little spoiled at the same time, pretty quickly. You can understand a really true, true baseball town. There's true baseball fans in Texas but it's not a true baseball town."
Washington found out about the comments during his media time Monday morning.
"I'm not answering anything that Josh said," Washington said. "That's Josh. Josh is an Anaheim Angel. That's Josh's opinion."
Washington's answer to Hamilton's assessment was number based.
"There were 3.5 million fans who came through the turnstiles," Washington said. "That answers it right there. I have no comment on Josh's comments, that's for sure."
The Rangers set an attendance record in 2012, drawing 3,460,280.
Texas outfielder David Murphy defended the Texas fans.
"We've had incredibly hot summers and people still show up in bunches and have been extremely supportive of us," Murphy said. "Everybody's got their own opinion and you can't control what people think. I'm extremely appreciative of our fans and the way they support us every single day."
Murphy said it's also hard to figure out exactly what a baseball town is.
"It's a place where people love coming to the ballpark every day, where a team is supported win or lose" he said. "It's a very fun atmosphere. The fans that show up the ballpark every night are passionate and do support us."
