ATLANTA — Whit Merrifield is tired of pitchers who struggle with control and hit batters with pitches.
The veteran infielder was the latest in a string of Atlanta Braves players to be hit by fastballs when he was struck in the back of the head by Colorado Rockies rookie Jeff Criswell on Tuesday. Merrifield said Major League Baseball needs to do something about the situation before someone gets seriously hurt — or worse.
“Where the game is right now is just ridiculous,” said Merrifield, who was hit by a 94.5 mph pitch in the seventh inning of the Braves’ 3-0 win, leaving a lump behind his left ear on the top of his neck. “I hate where the game is right now with that.”
Merrifield, a player representative on the MLB Competition Committee, yelled at Criswell as he was being treated on the field, and again as he walked off with a Braves coach. Merrifield passed tests for concussions but was headed for a CT scan after the game to rule out internal injuries.
He was given a 1-0 fastball after Criswell missed the ball with a slider on the first pitch.
Braves Travis d’Arnaud and Austin Riley were hit by up-and-in fastballs in consecutive games Aug. 18-19 against the Los Angeles Angels. D’Arnaud missed five games with a forearm contusion and Riley went on the injured list with a broken hand that is expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks.
Michael Harris II left a game on August 25 after being hit in the hand by a fastball from Nationals rookie DJ Herz leading off the first inning and left the game a few innings later. X-rays and an MRI revealed no fracture and he returned to the lineup two days later.
“We lost Riley, we almost lost Mike, we almost lost d’Arnaud in a span of two or three weeks,” Merrifield said. “The way pitchers throw now, there’s no focus on getting up and throwing in. Guys throw as hard as they can, they don’t care where the ball goes. And it’s just … it’s bulls—-.”
Merrifield wasn’t done venting his frustrations.
Not at all.
“You can’t hit a guy (in retaliation) anymore,” he said. “There’s no fear that, ‘Oh, if I hit this guy, our guy’s going to get hit.’ There’s no more of that. Pitchers don’t have to hit anymore, so they don’t have to stand in the box. And teams are bringing in pitchers who don’t know where the ball’s going. They’re throwing 100 miles an hour, so it’s, ‘OK, let’s see if he can get the guys out. Just line up in the middle and throw as hard as you can.’ And it’s bullshit—and it drives me crazy.”
He said that something had to be done and that he would do everything he could to resolve the situation.
“I’m on the Rules Committee and we’re having a phone call (Wednesday),” he said, “and it’s going to be a long conversation about what we need to do to get pitchers thinking about … I just got 95 off my head. I’m very fortunate that it put me in a good spot and I have to get a CAT scan. I’m out of the game, he’s allowed to stay and pitch, I probably can’t play tomorrow.”
Criswell, 25, was making his seventh MLB relief appearance. He threw 1 2/3 innings Tuesday and was charged with one hit, one run and three walks with one strikeout. He struck out just 23 batters in 41 pitches.
“No repercussions from him, and I mean, without being too dramatic, that was my life on the line there,” Merrifield said. “So I’m sick of it, it happens way too much. I saw Taylor Ward get punched in the face last year and had to have reconstructive surgery. Justin Turner got punched in the face last year. It happens exponentially. Guys get punched in the hand, Mookie Betts broke a bone in his hand this year. It’s just ridiculous and it needs to be fixed. Or, God forbid, something terrible happens.
“If this hits me in a different place, I mean… it’s just sad. It’s just sad that some of the pitchers we have playing there don’t know where the ball is going, at the highest level. That needs to be fixed. It just makes me really angry.”
(Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
