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Chicago baseball fans certainly remember Jeff Samardzija. If for nothing else than his unique name. Cubs faithful remember him as a decent starting pitcher whose timely good play in 2014 led to the trade that landed the team Addison Russell. A vital piece to their 2016 championship squad. White Sox fans remember him as an average starter in 2015 with a 4.96 ERA who went 11-13.
Since then he’s spent four seasons with the San Francisco Giants and is about to enter his fifth when baseball resumes this month. Needless to say, he like many players has his own opinions about that. COVID-19 is still a real threat that isn’t going away. This has led to a serious standoff with league owners over when and how games should be played, if at all.
After some contentious negotiations that almost resulted in losing the season altogether, a truce was reached. Teams will play a brisk 60 games this year before moving forward with the regular playoff format. The only matter left to attend to is whether fans will be allowed to watch them in person. Samardzija wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion on that.
Jeff Samardzija has always been a bit of a rebel
It shouldn’t be a huge surprise Samardzija would say that. Feelings towards the owners are rarely glowing by players. It being so soon after the standoff, that opinion is undoubtedly at rock bottom. The pitch has never been shy about speaking his mind when the situation calls for it. He’s a guy with plenty of individuality and expresses it in various ways. That includes making comments like that.
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One thing is for sure. The Cubs and White Sox ownerships are no doubt happy that he spoke up like that when he wasn’t employed by them anymore. He’s a headache for somebody else. Whether he sees any consequences for the comment remains to be seen. It seems unlikely. Still, it’s a reminder of just how tense the situation still is.