David Price Seems to Savor Being Hated

David Price doesn’t do himself any favors. After a reporter asked if his forearm bothered him after getting struck by a comebacker in the first inning, Price had a sarcastic response.

“You know me,” Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Price said. “I'm the softest guy in this clubhouse. If it bothered me, I'd be out of the game. I'm soft. … It wasn't painful. I'm fine. If it was painful, I would have come out.”

#RedSox pitcher David Price very sarcastic after the game today.  He took a liner to the chest and stayed in and got the win. This is likely in response to the carpal tunnel condition and how the media reacted to it. He calls himself "soft" a number of times. pic.twitter.com/U7Rc25fQVU

— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) May 28, 2018

Following his five-inning performance—in which he allowed two runs to the opposing Toronto Blue Jays to earn his fifth victory of the season—Price went out of his way to revive the chatter regarding his apparent lack of toughness.

"I'm soft, period, Price said in a mocking tone. "It's not a joke. I'm soft. ... No. I'm soft. It's cold. Can't pitch. My hands tingling. Can't do my job. That's it."

Price has had a rocky relationship with the media, and the Boston fan base, since signing his record-setting seven-year, $217 million deal before the 2016 season. The feud with the media and fans reached its boiling point last month when Price missed a start against the New York Yankees due to a mild case of carpel tunnel syndrome. Rumors circulated that Price, an avid video game enthusiast, suffered the injury playing Fortnite. He denied that was the reason he got hurt, forcing him not to pitch against the Yankees—despite admitting the popular video game has “kind of taken over.”

Mocked by national and local media—and by many baseball observers—who felt he ducked the start to avoid getting racked by the heavyweight Yankees offense, Price clearly remains agitated by his detractors. He went out of his way to label himself “soft,” even after a successful outing that helped lead Boston to an 8-3 victory on Monday.

Price improved to 5-4 on the season, but his peculiar interview became the biggest story on Monday. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Refusing to just enjoy the win, Price apparently felt compelled to stir up controversy in his bizarre postgame interview. A year after cursing out Red Sox legend Dennis Eckersley on the team plane, he gratuitously fired back at critics who have noted his various strange ailments.

The real shame is that Price has actually pitched well since his carpal tunnel diagnosis. He has surrendered two runs or fewer in four consecutive starts, posting a 2.49 ERA in that span. But that is now overshadowed by his post-game comments that shows he is fixated on what outsiders think of him.

A five-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner, Price has been a major letdown in Boston. In his third year with the team, Price has a mediocre 4.10 ERA. That’s simply doesn’t cut it for a guy making $30 million per season.

As if his disappointing pitching wasn’t enough, these incessant off-the-field distractions make it harder for fans to like him. Maybe that’s simply the way the contentious Price prefers it.