Reese Kaplan -- It's Time for Baseball to Address Hit Batsmen

Obviously there's already been a lot of digital ink written about the preponderance of Mets batters hit by pitches during this young 2022 season.  Most recently we saw Pete Alonso take one to the head for not the first but the second time already this season.  Then we saw J.D. Davis get nailed on a foot so badly that he's in a walking boot.

Now a great many Mets fans were ecstatic to see the second benches-clearing brawl as a result of hit batsman, though this one in St. Louis was a pitch thrown near Nolan Arenado not actually hitting him.  During the brawl, of course, Arenado was tossed for threatening the pitcher and Cardinals coach Stubby Clapp was also thrown out for tackling Pete Alonso from behind.  In a way it was comical given Clapp's mere 5'8" size compared to Alonso, but a great many wonder why he felt compelled to engage in that action with Alonso again being the target.

The other big element from this whole brouhaha was the fact that Yoan Lopez's pitch didn't make contact with Arenado at all.  Normally when there's a headhunting battle from the pitching mound both sides are warned not to engage any further yet Lopez was deemed relatively innocent.  Of course, later when the fines were announced Lopez didn't get off Scot free.  He's likely going to be heading back to Syracuse come May 1st anyway. 

During a conversation with fellow fans on Thursday the question arose why the opponents would go after Pete Alonso.  To me that seemed rather obvious.  To the Mets and to the rest of the league he's an offensive force.  Losing him would have a great impact on the Mets and their chances to remain out front.  Compare that to an ill-timed pitch that took out Tomas Nido or Luis Guillorme.  Yes, they're important players to the Mets but in ancillary roles and their time on the IL wouldn't imnpact the team all that badly.

That conversation then turned to the allegation from Buck Showalter and the Mets pitchers that the 2022 baseball is highly questionable.  The announcers recited the down stats for long balls this year which might be attributed to either a changed ball or a shortened preseason.  I was questioning the validity of the slipperiness argument on the baseball itself as it would suggest all teams would face the same problem and the number of hit batsmen should be relatively consistent from club to club.  We all know that is not the case.  

Now the risk of injury from thrown pitches is well known.  Obviously the impact of a 95+ mph leather covered sphere striking your unpadded body is never going to feel good, but there's a reason players now wear helmets with protective flaps on them.  It is entirely possible to break a bone from a pitch just as it is for a fielder to receive a fracture should a 100+ mph batted ball strike his ungloved hand.  

Of course, the magnitude can be far worse.  In 1920 star infielder Ray Chapman on the Cleveland Naps (later Indians and still later Guardians) was a terrific bunter and base stealer.  He came up in a game against the New York Yankees hurler Carl Mays and got drilled with a pitch to the head.  The ball hit him so hard and echoed with such a sound that the pitcher fielded it mistakenly thinking it was off his bat and threw to first.  Then they noticed Chapman was bleeding from his ear and he was rapidly sent to the nearby St. Lawrence hospital for examination and treatment.  Unfortunately the brain damage was too extensive and he died at 4:40 AM from having been hit by Mays' pitch.  

The idea of taking hit batsman seriously is long overdue.  It's good that there are some steps put into place to try to preserve safety, but this season there appears not much action has been taken to prevent the problem from occurring in the first place.  Pete Alonso is very lucky.  For J.D. Davis it's too soon to tell.  Here's hoping the umpires and team owners recognize that not enough attention has been paid to this critical and potentially fatal baseball injury.