Kevin Money just got punk’d.
Money, who has been the Rays’ manager for the past decade, was pranked by Reds skipper Terry Francona before Cincinnati won 7-2 over Tampa Bay on Friday.
When the Rays got here out for his or her batting practice at Great American Ballpark, they were met with a looping clip of their manager striking out during his playing days.
The clip shows Money striking out as a member of the Red Sox through the late-2000s — when Francona served as Boston’s manager.
Money also served as Francona’s bullpen coach in Cleveland before moving on to the Rays.
That is the newest in an ongoing prank war between the 2 managers who’ve been playing practical jokes on one another since 2015, Money’s first season on the helm for Tampa Bay.
Francona initiated the primary prank, where he had someone write “Zep says hi” on Money’s automobile, referring to former Cleveland reliever Marc Rzepczynski.
In 2017, Francona struck again, this time coming after Money’s subpar stats during his playing profession.
When the Rays got here to Progressive Field in Cleveland, Francona put a graphic on the scoreboard that read “How bad is Kevin Money on the Plate?”
The graphic then displayed Money’s profession slash line of .183/.248/.278 with a note below that read, “Within the history of Major League Baseball, amongst all non-pitchers with not less than 650 plate appearances, Kevin Money is the fifth worst OPS+ of all time.”
Despite Francona having pranked Money more often, the previous was perhaps hit the toughest.
Before a game between Cleveland and the Rays, Money stole Francona’s coveted motor scooter and put it within the infield for batting practice, where Tampa Bay’s C.J. Cron struck it.
Although Francona rags on Money in the general public eye, the Reds skipper insists that it’s all tough love.
“For public consumption, I don’t think I’d ever say anything nice about him,” Francona told reporters when asked about his relationship with Money. “But for this room, I really like the guy.
“I feel he’s the most effective. But for those who’re going to air this — I don’t think much of him.”
