Yankees Draft Pick Assigned To Charleston After Vowing Never To Live In SC
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Yankees draft pick Rob Refsnyder recently tweeted he'd "never live in South Carolina because they can't accept Asians playing baseball."
Turns out he would eventually land -- where else? -- in South Carolina.
Refsnyder, who was born in South Korea and adopted by a couple in California, sent and then quickly deleted the tweet in late June after his Arizona team beat South Carolina in Omaha's College World Series.
Upset with the treatment he received from some fans of the opposing team, he tried to clarify the remark on Twitter: "When people make death threats to my family and myself for being a certain color or race … Caused some animosity."
The problem? The Yankees drafted him in the fifth round earlier that month, and they have a Class-A affiliate in Charleston. Sure enough, the parent club in New York assigned him to the RiverDogs once he was under contract.
"Generalizing the whole state was foolish on my part, just immature," he told the Charleston Post & Courier. "(But) I never apologized for the things I said because there were some pretty cruel and evil things said out there throughout my College World Series experience."
The 21-year-old outfielder said the people of Charleston "have been nothing but great." That goes for fans and teammates alike.
"I was getting kind of antsy just sitting around the Comfort Inn in Tampa watching TV," Refsnyder said. "I'm just excited to play. These guys are real nice and as soon as I walked into the clubhouse, I was accepted. Looks like it's going to be fun."
Refsnyder went 2 for 8 with an RBI and two strikeouts in his first two games with the RiverDogs.
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