NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
When former MLB player Josh Rutledge became the goal of criticism, his wife, ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge, decided to take the cases in his own hands.
Instead of directly tackling Naysayers, recognized Rutledge to take a less conspicuous approach. She created a fake social media profile to confront her husband’s critics.
The negative comment that Rutledge addressed probably showed up between 2012 and 2017 when Josh competed in the big leagues. He debuted with MLB with Colorado Rockies and later played for Boston Red Sox. He also had a stint with San Francisco Giants in 2018.
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
Laura Rutledge from ESPN and baseball player Josh Rutledge attend the party at the playoffs at The Glasshouse on January 5, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Steve Jennings/Getty Images to ESPN)
“When he was with the angels, I made a fake Twitter – I admit this, OK?
“But this was a one-off thing, and the name was Billyhalo76 or something. And Billyhalo tweeted only positive things about Josh Rutledge, and then the occasional Mike Trout-Tweet because I was like, ‘Shoot someone who will find out.'”
ESPN STAR warns Alabama -fans in the middle of the team’s troubled loss to Florida State
“So if someone had said something negative about him, I would find them and then Billyhalo would be like ‘you got wrong’ and backed up with statistics. I don’t think Josh knows this. If he sees this, he will be really angry with me.”
Josh Rutledge #19 from San Francisco Giants Bats in the spring training game against Kansas City Royals at Scottsdale Stadium on February 26, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
Rutledge spent time with Angels’ Triple-A-associated company in 2014. He never appeared in a game of Big League Club and was traded for Red Sox in 2015.
Laura also remembered the personal turmoil she experienced when her husband was booed during a game.
“I really struggled with it,” Laura said of criticism directed at her husband. “There were times when he played for Red Sox … They had him on the third base and he hadn’t played the third base since high school. He was hardly playing the third base. And he’s in the hot corner and they’re in Fenway, he has a few mistakes in a game and people booing him and I’m like, ‘shut up!’
Josh Rutledge #19 from San Francisco Giants warms up for spring training games against Kansas City Royals at Scottsdale Stadium on February 26, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
Laura returns to ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” is releasing this season. She also hosts studio shows focused on NFL and college football for the network. Chicago Bears hosts Minnesota Vikings on September 8 in the first Monday night -match in the 2025 season.
The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles hosts Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night to open this year’s slate in regular season.
