By Mark Halpern
At the end of the 2021 season, I predicted that the Mets would get Buck Showalter as their manager. Buck is a very experienced manager and knew that he had a lot to accomplish this season. Buck brings a fire to the Mets dugout that we haven’t seen in a long time, since Bobby Valentine.
Over the first two games of the season, 3 Mets players have been beamed with fastballs that seemed way too close to be unintentional. Two of the players were hit in the face, and another right under the cheek; they were Pete Alonso on Friday and Francisco Lindor last night. Two games and 3 Mets players, HBP (hit By Pitch) and no warnings were given. Showalter showed his disgust at the umpires not warning the Nationals. Nationals pitchers claim the new balls are tough getting used to, and they got away. I don’t think we would be talking about this if the players had been hit in the leg, back, or even in the butt. Two of these players were hit in the face is the problem. Hey, I was a catcher, and sometimes balls do get away, but the Mets have a reason to be pissed.
You have to protect your team, and we all, at one time or another, have witnessed a revenge game in a sport, and we have to figure that it’s going to happen. I hope that Buck gets ahead of this and tries to control what happens on the field, but even he knows players sometimes take things into their own hands, and that is how the old man sees it.
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