The budding rivalry between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels took an odd twist Sunday.
Former Rangers ace C.J. Wilson took to Twitter and sent out an old phone number of current Texas catcher Mike Napoli. Later he apologized to Napoli on Twitter and said that he did the prank because Napoli said he couldn't wait to hit a homer off Wilson.
Smart move by Wilson? Wilson has more than 116,000 followers on Twitter who now have access to the number, which isn't one Napoli is using anymore.
As bright a guy as Wilson is, this might not be the best move he's ever made. Of course, even though Wilson is coming off an All-Star season and signed a five year, $77.5-million deal with his hometown Angels, he hasn't been perfect in his career.
Here are the top miscues Wilson has made in his career:
1. The ball flip – Before he became a starter, Wilson was a reliever for the Rangers. Arguably his worst outing came Aug. 5, 2008, against the New York Yankees. He pitched 1/3 of an inning, walking two, hitting one and allowing a grand slam to Richie Sexson, who finished the year with a .221 average and hasn't played in the majors since then. By the time manager Ron Washington went to the mound to pull Wilson, he had allowed four runs and his ERA on the season was 6.02. How did Wilson respond to getting yanked with a chorus of boos raining down on him at Rangers Ballpark? He walked off the mound and flipped the ball to Washington instead of handing it to him. Washington grabbed Wilson by the arm and pulled him back, making him hand the ball to his manager. Wilson apologized to his teammates and Washington but didn't pitch again that season, going on the disabled list with bone spurs in his elbow.
2. The 2011 ALCS – The Detroit Tigers were the only thing that stood between the Rangers and a second consecutive trip to the World Series. Wilson, the Texas ace, did little to help the cause. He pitched 10 2/3 innings in the series, allowing 14 hits and walking seven. His ERA in the series was 10.80. He didn't pitch poorly in Game 1 but his chance at a win was done in by a rain delay. He was on the mound again in Game 5 with the Rangers leading the series 3-2. But with the game tied 2-2 in the sixth inning, the Tigers opened the bottom of the sixth by hitting for the cycle in order off Wilson, with Delmon Young's homer making it a 6-2 game and setting the stage for Game 6.
3. The 2011 ALDS – This was Wilson's chance to show he wasn't pitching in Cliff Lee's shadow anymore. Wilson won his first postseason start in 2010 but lost his next two. He had a chance to get the 2011 playoffs off to a good start against Tampa Bay. It didn't happen. Wilson only pitched in one game, the opener. But he only lasted five innings. He gave up three home runs and six earned runs as the Rays blasted Texas 9-0 and put the Rangers in a 1-0 hole. The Rangers ended up winning the series in four games but Wilson didn't pitch again.
4. Opening up his mouth – It was just last month that Wilson was on a Sports Illustrated podcast talking about Twitter. Wilson said on that show that he wants to spread nothing but positive messages on Twitter. He often uses the PMA hashtag, which stands for positive mental attitude. Outing Napoli doesn't exactly rank as a positive tweet. Of course, the talkative Wilson also talked about on the same show about how he's an aspiring professional photographer and a fight he got into with white supremacists. He also talked about how much he doesn't like the NFL and that he hasn't watched television since November. Wilson is an easy target because he talks about a lot of topics and puts himself out there, whether it's talking about his racing team or his straight-edge lifestyle. He also tried a break-dancing bit on funnyordie.com. If those are the only two options, the clip is unfunny.
5. Ticking off Napoli – Napoli has taken the high road with Wilson tweeting his old digits. Napoli hasn't talked about it but he certainly knows the Rangers will be playing the Angels 19 times this season. Napoli already holds a little bit of a grudge against the Angels, who traded him after the 2010 season because they didn't think he could handle the catching duties full time. Napoli played in 16 games against the Angels in 2011 and hit six of his 30 homers against them. That was the most he had against any team. His batting average against the Angels was .356. Napoli also hit .356 against his former team. That was before one of their pitchers gave out his old number.
