Buck Showalter told reporters on Wednesday, before the Mets’ benches-clearing altercation with the Cardinals, that he and general manager Billy Eppler had called the league office to discuss the team’s bloated hit by pitch number.
Now, the Mets and Major League Baseball are reportedly set to meet in person to discuss the issue.
According to Greg Joyce of the New York Post, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword will meet with the Mets at Citi Field on Friday to hear out the team’s concerns after a 19th Mets player was hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s series finale against St. Louis. The team’s frustration reached a boiling point on Wednesday, when J.D. Davis was hit in the ankle and had to leave the game, and Yoan Lopez fired a high-and-tight fastball to Nolan Arenado on his first pitch of the bottom half of the inning, prompting the benches to empty.
Pete Alonso, hit in the head on Tuesday, and Chris Bassitt, Tuesday’s starter, were both critical of the league’s baseballs, with Bassitt claiming they are constantly differing in makeup from inning to inning.
Major League Baseball said in a statement on Wednesday that it was aware of the Mets’ 19 HBPs, eight more than the next highest team, and they would “continue to monitor” the situation.
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