Yu Chang, the Cleveland Indian infielder, tweeted that he received racist socializing messages after his decisive error in Monday’s loss to Cleveland against the White Sox.
Chang wrote on Twitter early Tuesday morning: “Exercise your freedom of expression in a correct way, I accept all comments, positive or negative, but definitely DO NOT RESIST. Thank you all and I love you all. #StopAsianHate.”
Chang’s tweet included a screenshot of anti-Asian racist messages he was allegedly receiving from three different users. Two of the accounts did not exist since Tuesday morning, and the third is private.
Cleveland lost 4-3 on Monday night when Chang hit Yasmani Grandal of Chicago with a throw while trying to force him to second base in the ninth inning, allowing Nick Madrigal to score the winning run.
Chang, who was playing first base, won Nick Williams’ single field and tried to bring Grandal to second place, rather than step on first base for the second outing. His shot hit Grandal in the head, and the ball bounced off the left side of the field while Madrigal was running home.
Chang, 25, is from Taiwan, who played three-season roles with the Indians. He played first shortstop and third base throughout his career and never had first base before this season.
According to a recent report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate crimes against Asian Americans have risen nearly 150 percent in major US cities in the past year.
The #StopAsianHate movement gained national attention last month after a white man killed eight people – including six people of Asian descent – in a series of shootings at Atlanta spas.