Remember This Kevin Pillar Near-Disaster in 2021?
I saw this the other day on Facebook (USA SPORTS HUB):
When a 94-mph fastball cracked off Whit Merrifield's helmet on Tuesday night, it wasn't just another scary moment on the field—it was a boiling point. The Atlanta Braves infielder didn’t hold back, tearing into the state of pitching in today's MLB, where control seems to be sacrificed for velocity.
Merrifield, who’s no stranger to the game’s intricacies, voiced what many hitters fear: that the lack of control is becoming a ticking time bomb.
"It's ridiculous. ... It's BS," Merrifield fumed, pointing to a troubling trend where pitchers are being brought up with blazing fastballs but little idea where they’re headed.
With teammates like Austin Riley and Michael Harris II nearly sidelined by similar incidents recently, Merrifield's frustration is far from misplaced.
As a member of MLB's rules committee, Merrifield isn't just talking—he’s planning to push for immediate changes. "If this hits me in a different spot... it's frankly pathetic," he said, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.
The game has evolved, but has it come at too high a price? Merrifield is ready to take a stand before another close call turns into a tragedy.
That said, Shakespeare would look at the Mets franchise and have said "Beware the 6th of September."
In 2022 on that date, Starling Marte got a broken bone from an HBP, likely costing the then red hot Mets the division. On this September 6, Jeff McNeil squared for a bunt, and the pitcher, perhaps startled, threw a curve at his solar plexas. Dead Center of Jeff McNeil, and he couldn't avoid getting hit.
It hit, and broke, his wrist - he'll be out out 4 to 6 weeks, as the Mets are red hot. I heard last night that McNeil's post All Star OPS is a lofty .923, so spin this loss any way you wish, that is in point of fact pretty huge of a loss.
Last year, of course, as the Mets were reeling in early June, the last thing the Mets needed was to lose Pete Alonso. A high velocity fastball from the ATLANTA PITCHER came boring in, and he was only on the IL for 10 days, but it should have been longer, as he rushed back and hit like spit for the next 4 weeks, most likely due to playing through pain.
My HBP injury solution is simple. Penalize pitchers.
If you the pitcher hit a batter and he goes on the IL as a result, you are suspended for as long as the hitter is out, up to 30 games, without pay.
You hit someone in the head? Automatic 10 game suspension without pay, even if not injured enough to go on IL. If the hitter goes on the IL, you’re on it for as long as he’s on it.
Where it gets tricky is if a guy is leaning in, and the pitch hits him 6 inches inside and he gets hurt. Then the batter may be substantially at fault, and the penalties for the above infraction, if any, may need to be lessened.
Thoughts, please.
Interesting idea.
ReplyDeleteI would add another...
Hit someone in the head, immediate removal from the game and loss of one rotation slot
That would do it. It burns me that the Mets have been targets for years and it cost them badly each of the last 3 years. If the hitting stalls, and they barely miss a WC spot, look no further than the McNeil injury.
DeleteI don't agree
DeleteIglesias will put up excellent defense and is hitting better than Jeff this season
Now if he goes down THAT'S a problem
Losing McNeil is tough. Along with Iglesias, one of the few productive Mets in the second half.
ReplyDeleteWe will see. Stewart replacing Jeff is a downgrade of sizable proportions, unless Stewart, in whatever ABs he gets, gives us Swoboda Sept 1969. Ron had a great season that month.
ReplyDeleteOther than being a lefty bat, I see no reason to bring back Stewart
DeleteThe Mets have this mysterious bad luck. Not only do they get key players injured at the wrong time by HBP, but if MLB did enact such a rule, Kodai Senga would come back from the IL, and in the second inning of his first game back, he would unintentionally hit some inconsequential batter on the opposing team and be suspended for the next 30 days.
ReplyDeleteThe Cloud hovers in Queens too often.
DeleteGoing back to Tom's first comment. . . if they miss the WC, they should blame the starts that Lindor and Nimmo had, then the May swoon. The early games matter as much as the September ones. Now that they are tied, it is a race to the finish. (Remember, Atlanta has had its share of injuries this year as well)
ReplyDeleteR 69, Alonso this year is sub par. Probably cost them 3-5 games from his normal output.
ReplyDeleteI agree. On the other hand, where would they be without Mark Vientos? And Lindor bounced back bigly. Nimmo has had a low batting average year, but led the team most of the year in RBI and has even added some stolen bases to his toolset.
ReplyDeleteSuper Jet: while the Mets picked Jet at number 14 and Parada number 11, Chandler Simpson was picked at number 70. This year in the minors, in 107 games, he is hitting 356 with 102 stolen bases. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
ReplyDelete