Jose Bautista boycotts TV network because they owe teammate money
Blue Jays star Jose Bautista hasn’t spoken with the team’s official broadcaster since May, and The Toronto Starhas figured out why.
It turns out Bautista thinks Sportsnet, the network owned by the same company that owns the Blue Jays, owes rookie second baseman Devon Travis a whole bunch of money for a designer suit.
Sportsnet took Travis to a chic Toronto clothing store for a makeover and the rookie bought a pricey suit for a segment that aired on the network. “Bautista believes Sportsnet took advantage of Travis—since it was the network’s idea to do the suit-buying special—and that he needs to stand up for his rookie teammate, who is unable to stand up for himself given his lower-echelon status in the league and with his new team,” the Star reports.
• Steinbrenner flipped Kevin Millar the bird after the 2003 ALCS
Travis is making the MLB rookie minimum of $507,500 (that’s $675,000 Canadian) this season, and after getting paid below minimum wage in the minors, he’s not exactly rich yet.
Sportsnet, Travis and Bautista all declined to comment for the Star’s story, though Bautista did confirm that the Star’s understanding of the issue was correct.
This is unusual because Bautista never holds grudges.
- Dan Gartland
