Robinson Cano Booed Relentlessly, Shut Out At Home Run Derby
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Fans in Kansas City showed Robinson Cano how a Bronx cheer is really done on Monday night.
The Yankees slugger set a final-round record of 12 en route to last year's Home Run Derby title in Phoenix, where he hit 32 overall. This year he received loud booing throughout by fans upset he didn't select the Royals' Billy Butler after promising to take a hometown player for his derby team.
"We talked about it after," said Butler. "There's nothing personal."
Fans chanted "Bil-ly Butler!" in between their boos -- which only seemed to give way to cheers after every out. The boo-birds grew louder as Cano couldn't hit a single home run.
When it was over, Cano got hugs from Boston's David Ortiz and Yankees teammates Curtis Granderson and CC Sabathia.
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"I was criticized before I got here. If you play for the Yankees you get booed everywhere you go," Cano said. "It doesn't bother me at all. This is for the fans and that's what they felt like."
It was the 17th time a player went homerless in the Derby, the first since Detroit's Brandon Inge in 2009.
"That was the most interesting reaction to a home (run) derby i've ever seen, but the fans were excited which is all that counts," Granderson tweeted.
But after the booing -- and the buzz on Twitter -- subsided, Cano got the last laugh.
"We ended up with the trophy," he said. Prince Fielder of the AL squad took home the derby title.
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