Todd Frazier has tirade against umpires after Mets' loss
Todd Frazierof the Mets strikes out against the Braves at Citi Field on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Todd Frazier went 0-for-4 in the Mets’ 7-0 loss to the Braves at Citi Field on Wednesday night. He saved his best cuts for the umpires in a postgame rant about calling balls and strikes.
Frazier revealed that he met with an unnamed umpire on Sunday in San Diego to complain about what he feels is a trend of umpires calling too many strikes. On Wednesday, Frazier’s frustration boiled over on a night the Mets were three-hit by three Atlanta pitchers.
“I just can’t sit back and let it go anymore,” Frazier said. “It has to be said.”
Asked about Braves starter Sean Newcomb and his seven shutout innings, Frazier said: “He was getting some calls that could have gone either way. I think the frustrating thing right now is just those kind of calls that he’s getting aren’t really strikes. But credit him, he pitched a heck of a game. It’s just I’m starting to get frustrated with these umpires a little bit. I have to say something. It’s just one of those things when you come in the dugout, you’re back in and everybody’s like, ‘Man, you see that pitch?’ And it gets in your mind and you think it’s a strike and it was a ball. There’s no accountability. We’re really frustrated with these guys in these last five or six games that put you in a hole. I had two at-bats where they’re both balls and it puts you right in a hole. Like I said, the kid pitched a hell of a game. Nothing against him. He shut us down.”
Newcomb walked one and struck out eight. Frazier said he wasn’t concerned that Major League Baseball and commissioner Rob Manfred might not take kindly to his criticism of the umpires.
“I’d like to sit down with Manfred or anybody at MLB to talk to them about it,” Frazier said. “It’s rubbing everybody the wrong way. You’ve got to be better than that.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
