Eventually, Mets were going to hit back over HBPs
New York Mets' Pete Alonso and St. Louis Cardinals first base coach Stubby Clapp (82) scuffle as benches clear during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in St. Louis. Clapp was ejected from the game. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Credit: AP
Let’s assume, given Wednesday’s volatile situation, that Mets reliever Yoan Lopez did in fact purposely throw a 94-mph fastball high-and-tight to Cardinals slugger Nolan Arenado.
One, Arenado later said he expected it, no doubt after J.D. Davis took a 96-mph fastball from Génesis Cabrera off his left ankle in the top of half of that same eighth inning.
Two, the pitch didn’t really come all that close to hitting him.
In other words, Lopez knew where he wanted to throw that particular fastball and pretty much delivered it to the desired location.
But we’re supposed to believe the 19 times the Mets have been drilled this season -- three in the head -- are simply because opposing pitchers couldn’t get sufficient grip on this year’s crop of slippery baseballs?
Don’t think so. And they’re evidently done being treated like bowling pins.
Can the frigid weather, and lack of tackiness on the ball, impact a pitcher’s control? Sure. A number have complained about those factors, including the Mets’ own Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer.
But plenty of others have been fine making the adjustment, and it’s not like dozens of hitters are being turned into pinatas every night. Or at least ones wearing uniforms that aren’t orange-and-blue.
Underneath, the Mets -- plunked seven times more than the next closest team -- are black-and-blue. It’s a near-miracle that none of them have been seriously hurt after getting dinged up this much, and the team said Wednesday the X-rays of Davis’ ankle were negative. Another bullet dodged, if not fastball
Here’s the thing: As managers and players like to say after each of these episodes, if a pitcher can’t throw inside with responsible control, he has no business doing so. And if those command issues are exacerbated by chilly temps, or slick baseballs, that’s still no excuse.
Pete Alonso has been nailed twice in the head, including Tuesday night when Cards reliever Kodi Whitley broke his helmet with an 83-mph changeup. Thankfully, his skull was spared. Again. Just because a pitch isn’t 100 doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous, and Alonso won’t stay lucky forever at this rate.
“I just can’t comprehend pitchers missing that badly,” Alonso said after Wednesday’s 10-5 loss at Busch Stadium. “Big leaguers that are supposed to be the best in the world shouldn’t be missing above people’s necks. There shouldn’t be any neck balls.”
I’ve never been in favor of vigilante justice between the lines, especially when it comes to pitchers throwing high-speed projectiles as revenge. Historically, the game tends to police itself in these matters, but the velocity these days significantly increases the danger quotient.
In this case, however, the Mets have been left with no choice. What other recourse was there? Before Wednesday, they had showed tremendous restraint in rolling to a 14-6 record, focusing on business rather than beanballs as their own body count climbed.
Eventually, however, it had to stop. And seeing Davis go down, the day after Alonso got domed, turned out to be the breaking point. There’s only so many times Buck Showalter can scowl from the top step before his players have to protect themselves. A message had to be delivered, and the Mets didn’t hurt anyone to do it, other than Arenado’s feelings.
Since Wednesday’s game was practically over when Lopez flipped Arenado, that came off as more of a warning shot to the league overall -- as well as for the Cardinals’ upcoming visit to Citi Field for a four-game series starting on May 16. Arenado had a right to be upset -- no one enjoys getting their tower buzzed at 94 -- but sparking the on-field melee was not an equivalent response. And Cards rookie manager Oliver Marmol sort of missed the irony in his own postgame comments.
“When you come up top like that and jeopardize someone’s career and life ... I take exception to that,” Marmol said. “I don’t think anyone in the big leagues appreciates getting thrown up top. Nolan has every right to react the way he did and go after him, and we’ll protect that.”
You don’t say? Just ask Alonso. Or Francisco Lindor, who was fortunate to only suffer a cracked molar when he was nailed in the faceguard earlier this month. Arenado didn’t even wind up with a bruise.
“I know our player got hit in the head,” Showalter said, “and he went to first base.”
This time, the Mets didn’t turn the other cheek to offer as a bulls-eye. They rushed the field for their second benches-clearing melee in the season’s first 20 games, which has to be some kind of record. Alonso was tackled by Cards first-base coach Stubby Clapp during the brawl, and he was still steaming afterward in the clubhouse. Consider the Mets to be on a short fuse in the days ahead.
“There’s consequences, whether it’s on purpose or not,” Alonso said, “and we’re going to stand up for ourselves.”
God knows they’ve been knocked down enough. That has to end.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
