Jose Caballero needs to stop his antics at the plate

In May 2023, Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado confronted Jose Caballero over his manipulation of the scoreboard, which led to a bench-clearing brawl.

A month later, Caballero brought his little antics to Yankee Stadium, which irritated Gerrit Cole so much that he fired a 97 MPH fastball over Caballero's head. After striking him out, Cole exchanged gestures and words with the Seattle Mariners' dugout.

This incident is one of the reasons why New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted this week that he didn't like Cabby before the Yankees acquired him from the Tampa Bay Rays at last year's trade deadline.

But regardless of the fact that Boonie now appreciates his protégé and defends him in public, Caballero needs to stop his antics.

As we know, Caballero steps into the batter's box, lowers his eyes, and refuses to look at the pitcher until the very last possible moment. The pitcher waits. The clock keeps ticking. Caballero finally looks up, halfway into his batting stance, while the opposing pitcher has been ready since the Stone Age.

The purpose of the clock introduced by Major League Baseball was to shorten games and thus maintain the interest of the majority of fans. It wasn't to allow certain players to find the slightest loophole to exploit.

And speaking of an advantage, it's not as if Caballero is really benefiting from it, given that he's been struggling to keep his batting average above the .100 mark for the past few weeks.

As you know, I'm a Yankees fan, and I'm urging Caballero to stop this nonsense, focus on his at-bats, and eliminate any distractions he might be causing right now to a team fighting for the American League East title.

Is that too much to ask?

• Cody Bellinger wants to avoid the injured list.

• Caleb Durbin will remain at third base for now.

• Stay tuned.

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