Braves' Merrifield launches tirade after being hit by fastball
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Atlanta Braves utility man Whit Merrifield was forced out of the team's 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday after being hit in the head by a pitch, and was not shy about making the league aware of his feelings.
Merrifield was struck just below the ear by a 95mph fastball from Rockies rookie Jeff Criswell in the seventh inning. He reportedly passed concussion protocol, but the team is continuing to assess for any further injury to the veteran.
“Where the game’s at right now, it’s just ridiculous,” said Merrifield after the game. “I hate where the game’s at right now with that.”
Merrifield is the latest in a string of Braves hitters to have been hit by pitches that caused injury in recent weeks.
Catcher Travis d'Arnaud and outfielder Michael Harris were each plunked on the arm by fastballs and missed a few games apiece.
Star slugger Austin Riley, who has finished the top-10 in National League Most Valuable Player voting the last three seasons, is slated to miss six-to-eight weeks with a fractured hand after he was hit by a pitch on August 19.
“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 are throwing now, there’s no regard for throwing up and in. The guys are throwing as hard as they can, they don’t care where the ball goes. And it’s just … it’s bulls—-.”
Merrifield, a veteran of nine MLB seasons with the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Braves and a three-time All-Star, is also a player representative on the MLB Competition Committee.
"Teams are bringing pitchers up that don’t know where the hell the ball is going. They throw 100 miles an hour, so it’s, ‘Alright, we’ll see if he can get the guys out. Just set up down the middle and throw as hard as you can.’ And it’s bulls—, and it’s driving me nuts,” Merrifield said.
The 35-year-old Merrifield is hoping that his position in the league can allow for change to start to manifest.
"I'm on the Rules Committee, and we've got a call Wednesday, and it's going to be a long conversation," Merrifield said.
"It’s just pathetic. It’s frankly pathetic, that some of the pitchers that we’re running out there don’t know where the ball’s going, at the major-league level. It’s got to be fixed. It just pisses me off to no end.”