Guardians star Cade Smith’s classy response to Junior Caminero’s extreme Game 6 showboating
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Guardians star Cade Smith’s classy response to Junior Caminero’s extreme Game 6 showboating appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
We live in an era of Major League Baseball where people often have two different opinions on flashy home run celebrations. Old-school players and fans are often completely against them, suggesting that showing up another player has no place in the game. Meanwhile, there is another group of players and fans who completely support them, arguing that it helps draw more attention to the sport. People who follow the game were surely curious to see how Cleveland Guardians closer Cade Smith felt about Tampa Bay Rays infielder Junior Caminero’s extreme showboating after hitting a home run off of him in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
Junior Caminero
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THE TROP IS ELECTRIC! pic.twitter.com/E0hC0eAmBK
— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2026
Junior Caminero looked toward Randy Arozarena and did Randy’s celebration before crossing home! pic.twitter.com/ehAH0ZrpYx
— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2026
It would have been difficult to blame Smith for calling Caminero out. Instead, the Guardians star shared an honest take while revealing the reality of the situation.
“It’s not my style but I guess if I don’t like it, I shouldn’t give up home runs,” Smith said, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN.
Smith could have pretended to be fine with it to fit in with the new way of thinking in baseball. But, if we’re honest, there isn’t a pitcher in the game who would have been a fan of that celebration against them. Even the extreme supporters of showboating after home runs may have felt Caminero’s celebration was a bit much.
However, Smith could have also taken the angry veteran route. He could have seriously upset the showboating supporters.
Instead, Smith found the perfect take. He admitted Caminero’s celebration wasn’t his personal “style,” but he also acknowledged that the situation could have been avoided by not surrendering the home run in the first place.
The long ball itself represented a huge momentum shift. It had been a low scoring game up to that point in the 7th inning, as Tampa Bay held a 3-1 lead. Caminero’s home run made it 5-1. Smith surprisingly struggled despite being reliable all season. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt wasn’t shy about using his closer throughout the postseason — even in multiple inning appearances at times — so Smith surely did not have much left in the tank.
Cleveland battled back and made it 5-3 in the top of the 8th inning, but Yandy Diaz hit a dagger two-run home run in the bottom of the 8th to make it 7-3. That ended up being the final score as the Guardians’ season came to an end.
Related: Guardians lost to Rays in ALCS, but 1 player proved he’s destined to become a star
Related: Stephen Vogt gives props to Guradians’ pitchers for stepping up in Game 6
Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.