After Cleveland's Francisco Lindor hit his fifth-inning home run that caused jubilation at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan on Tuesday night, he ran the bases excitedly, came out for a curtain call and bowed from his shortstop position after taking the field in the bottom of the inning.
Then he apologized.
Lindor said he loves the game, respects the game and did not try to disrespect Twins. He apologized if he offended anyone while celebrating his home run on the bases. #PuertoRicoSeries
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) April 18, 2018
But nobody on the Twins had taken offense, even though Lindor's words could have made you curious if something was said.
FWIW: @Twins did not complain or say anything negative about Francisco Lindor’s home run postgame. They get it. It was a huge moment for Lindor and the island. https://t.co/nu7QIUIoJn
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) April 18, 2018
And furthermore:
Twins didn’t say anything. They are not the fun police. That’s not fair. I’ve actually heard good things about them being engaged on the island and in game. Lindor was asked about the homer postgame and unprompted, he said he is sorry if anyone was offended. https://t.co/Ts0KiDL4Nc
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) April 18, 2018
One of the best reactions came from WCCO-AM producer Dan Cook, who tweeted:
I love the #MNTwins but I also love baseball as a whole. And the best thing for baseball in this series is to see it's Puerto Rican stars shine. Have Lindor hit all the homers tonight and Berrios pitch a gem tomorrow and this trip will be a rousing success for everybody
— Dan Cook (@DanCookWCCO) April 18, 2018
So there you go. No controversy. Nothing like Brian Dozier's reaction to the ninth-inning bunt single (against a shift) by a Baltimore batter during the opening weekend of the season.
Just a sweet moment at the expense of a hanging curveball.