Major League Baseball announced this evening that Mets reliever Yoan López has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for “intentionally throwing pitches at Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies during the top of the ninth inning of Sunday night’s game at Citi Field.” As is typical practice, New York manager Buck Showalter received a one-game suspension for López’s actions.
The Mets optioned López to Triple-A Syracuse today. His suspension will take effect whenever he’s recalled, although he has the right to appeal. Showalter does not have an appellate right, and he’ll miss tonight’s game against the Braves as a result. Bench coach Glenn Sherlock will be the acting manager for tonight’s game, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
López’s first pitch to Schwarber was a fastball that missed down and in. His second offering was in virtually the same spot. López then threw three straight pitches in the strike zone, and Schwarber eventually grounded out. No one was ejected, although home plate umpire Jerry Meals did issue warnings. Earlier in the game, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had been plunked by Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez. López later hit Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm.
It’s the second time in as many weeks López has been at the center of controversy. He threw a pitch up-and-in to Cardinals star Nolan Arenado during a game on Wednesday. Arenado started yelling back, and the benches cleared. Arenado and St. Louis reliever Genésis Cabrera wound up serving one-game suspensions for their roles in that incident; López was fined but not suspended.
Buck should get more than a game. He’s done this now to two teams in a week’s time. I don’t care if you’re angry or what the other teams did. This is becoming a pattern and MLB has to shut it down.
A pattern of not hitting players?
Or maybe it’s just Yoan Lopez
Buck has gone too far! The Mets’ pattern of *not* hitting players in response to their players getting hit is TOO MUCH!!1
You are full of it. No other team has been hit MORE. And Buck has kept the team in check from throwing beanballs. And name a team that has had more players hit above the shoulders. Waiting……
There’s a stat for this? Where would one find it?
history
Mets Rip Into MLB For League-Leading Hit By Pitch Count
http://www.si.com/mlb/mets/news/mets-rip-into-mlb-for-league-leading-hit-by-pitch-count
MLB Team Hit By Pitch per Game
http://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/hit-by-pitch-per-game
Agreed @JohnJaso. But really, it’s on MLB. The penalty for throwing at a batter should be SO high, that no pitcher would consider doing it. That way, if/when a hitter gets plunked, there is no ambiguity regarding intent. Further, bench clearing should also have HUGE consequences. Baseball is not quite a “gentlemen’s game” but it is non-violent in all other ways. To let teams come rushing out, to exhibit their toughness, in the modern era is ridiculous.
The two pitches in question didn’t even require Schwarber to move to avoid getting hit.
So you you think it’s ok to hit Mets players at double the rate as the league but if they hit someone else then they should be kicked out of baseball? Try winning on the field instead of hoping everyone is suspended to win.
The Phillies didn’t hit anyone in this recent series.
Oh I’m wrong. Lindor got hit although clearly unintentional.
Phillies hit them 5 times in the previous series. Including two in the head.
It was the Nats and Cards who hit guys in the head. I don’t recall the Phillies hitting anyone in the head. Segura was injured when he was beamed by the way.
The article has a sentence reading: “Earlier in the game, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had been plunked by Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez.”
Yes. I corrected that already my bad. It was so clearly unintentional that I had forgotten about it. No one thought that was on purpose. Not even Lindor.
Okay, well pardon, they still hit the Mets 5 times in a 3 game series in the immediate past. Not sure why you think “this series” is particularly relevant to the ire they feel.
Nevermind the two pitches that just got two Mets suspended were low and inside, barely off the plate enough to even cause Schwarber to move, wouldn’t have even hit him if he had stood still, and one of them was a changeup. It’s absurd by any metric imaginable.
Well Lopez hit Bohm before throwing at Schwarber. So it was 3 pitches that got him suspended not 2. Getting hit in the toe with the bases loaded is a gift, not something to get angry about. Mets fans and media need to stop acting like every HBP is intentional and scary. The ones near to the head in the Cards and Nats series? Absolutely a problem. But this 19 number they keep throwing around, take a look at some of these. Not every HBP is equal.
You think he hit Bohm with a two strike pitch on purpose? LOL.
If you can’t see why a team that has been drilled more than any other in baseball by a considerable margin is upset that they’ve faced *more discipline* for a couple of low and sorta-in changeups that didn’t come within a foot of hitting a guy, than any team has for actually drilling them, then you’re entirely too colored by bias here. Look at these pitches and situations,compare it to what they’ve been on the other side of, and try being objective. It’s ludicrous.
I don’t even think the HBP the Mets have endured have been completely intentional. They quite obviously haven’t been. But that’s not the point. The point is a pitcher threw a couple inside changeups and got *suspended for it* because of the “bad air” created by the other teams drilling them at an absurd rate. There’s an assumption of guilt now on Mets pitchers simply because of a situation they did not create, so much so that a freakin inside change up and a 2 strike HBP are *suspension worthy.* Don’t be a clown. It’s dumb.
No. I don’t think he hit Bohm on purpose. That’s my point. This is all nonsense.
Von, I agree. Look, he wasn’t even ejected. So, to start assigning motive to pitches that come close, near, or adjacent to hitters is stupid when clearly the umpires in-game didn’t feel it was nefarious enough to eject him.
Plus, are we really going to do this every time a batter gets hit now, even though there is demonstrable evidence HBPs have been rising each year? And, now it doesn’t even have to hit the batter, but it has to be close, or closer, to the batter?
Stupid. This is one thing they can certainly fix without doubling down on dumb decisions. If there’s clear intent, fine, establish a punishment for the player. But, if not, c’mon MLB, it’s just adding to the pile of dung-laced decisions that have become the foundation for new era ball.
@candymaldonado, Lopez then proceeded to throw at Bohm. Missed him on one and hit him on another. At least that HBP wasn’t at the head or near the legs like the pitches to Schwarber. I’m still trying to figure out why he wasn’t ejected after warnings had just been issued.
Lol it was a two strike change up that hit Bohm — you really think he hit a guy w a changeup after getting ahead of the count on purpose?
I’d have hit him in the box and then hit him again as he walked up the line to first
three thumbs up to that comment? You’ve got enough guys for a game of CLUELESS Bridge
@johnJaso
You’re either trolling or everything that’s wrong with the world
Oh look whiny Mets are happy to throw at other teams but if one of their incredible players are hit, showwalter spends days crying to his media suckups. Cannot wait until they are swept by braves.
You idiot. The Mets have been hit FAR MORE this year than any other team and throw AT opponents FAR LESS than they get thrown at themselves. Fact check before you post stupid comments.
The Mets have been hit 2 more times than the Padres. It’s not as egregious as the NY media makes it sound. Anyway they can’t whine anymore. Phillies didn’t hit a single batter that series. Lopez threw at a guy’s heads for hitting homeruns. That’s trash.
Read the sentence about Sánchez hitting Lindor.
Already corrected it above.
If you look at the stay from teamrankings.com in the link from another comment, you’d see that the HBP rate for the Mets players is more than 20% higher than the closest other team and more than twice the league average. With regard to a comment about being hit in the foot, it’s not always so benign. JD Davis got a walking boot as a birthday present because of it. I’m not saying the majority of these are intentional, but slapping suspensions on the frustrated team that is not going out of its way to hit players is punishing the victim.
Stat, even
Lopez threw no where near schwarbers head idiot
Neither of those pitches were anywhere near his head. One was at his ankles and the other around the hip. There was absolutely nothing dangerous about either pitch.
No
You can’t even beat the Nats. You will be out of division contention before degrom gets back.
@ mets698622
Making bold predictions for a team that soils itself halfway through the season every year. A team that spends 300 million SHOULD win the division so much so that it will be hilarious if they don’t. Especially if you get beat by the Marlins. I’m rooting for those fish.
Ohhhh noooo
I don’t know what NYM’s issue was last night. They were objecting to pitches a few inches from the strike zone last night.
Was he really throwing at him? He hit Bohm with 2 strikes right after.
No, he wasn’t, imo. I think he just isn’t very good.
Bohm was actually hit after the warnings were issued
oh and Meals is a fool. issuing unneeded warnings near the end of a game that was already over when no intent pitches were actually thrown. this after missing some stupid calls earlier in the game. can we get better Sunday Night umps?
So if Yoan Lopez never gets recalled and thus never serves the suspension, does he win?
For all the Mets talk of getting hit, they injured Segura when throwing at him in the previous series and threw at a guy who hit 2 dingers off them last night. Phillies didn’t hit anyone in that series by the way. Mets can’t whine anymore. But they certainly can win.
I’m not a fan of the NY Post, but its sports section is decent. This is a headline from today’s paper: “Mets’ Francisco Lindor has welt after being drilled by Phillies”
Ridiculous headline. I worked for the Post and Times previously. Good people at both papers, but they’re clearly stirring the pot. Last night was a big nothing burger. I don’t think anyone was trying to hit anyone and the Bohm got nailed after Lindor. It was a tough series and the Mets pulled away big time towards the end of last night. This beam war is media nonsense.
Nobody cares where you “worked”, nor do they care about your whiny opinion of this issue. You’re making assertions based on watching highlights, so you can’t possibly understand the situation. Do yourself a favor and let it go, nerd.
Lol you mad
I watched the game live. You aren’t reading or comprehending my comments and are clearly a fan taking it personally. I’m bashing the NY media. The Mets are significantly better than the Phillies and I never said otherwise. It’s okay to criticize things about your team. It doesn’t make you less of a fan. Throwing at Schwarber was silly. The NY media is trying to turn the Mets into victims. Lopez is a bad pitcher involved in two controversial moments in a week’s span. He likely won’t pitch for the Mets again this year because he stinks. This is a non-story
you obviously care about his opinion or you wouldn’t respond.
Heard Lopez has a ‘Hit em all, let the Commissioner sort em out’ bumper sticker.
Lopez can use the time off to practice hitting batters properly.
If he appeals they’ll reduce it. Still awaiting Miles Straw’s suspension.
League min. pitcher. I doubt they do appeal and will pick bigger future battles.
You all may think that Lopez missed Schwarber. But really, he nailed Schwarber, Bohm, the entire team and the city of Philadelphia right in the feelings.
Hurts so bad today.
Also, a question: how many careers have been ended by intentionally throwing baseballs near someone? Now, how many have been ended by unintentionally hitting someone in the head/face/elsewhere? Jw.
You could argue against any of them being intentional. Really it’s not even a big story in Philly. The story in the Philly papers is that the Mets beat the Phillies and bad pitching let the Phils down. The Mets are clearly the better team right now. That’s the story. I don’t get why the NY media is trying to stir up the everyone is hitting the Mets on purpose nonsense. Despite the scary and unfortunate hits to Lindor and Alonso’s heads by the Nats and Cards, the others are just plain nothing burgers.
You’d think it was a huge issue with how much effort you’re putting into bashing the Mets about it. I can’t wait until the Phillies defense and pitching completely falls apart. It’s only a matter of time.
I’m not bashing the Mets. I’m bashing the media. Big difference here.
Not one person in Philly cares what Lopez did.
Mets are pond scum.
That extreme is wrong too. This is all nonsense to stir up a rivalry of two teams who were never really good at the same time and never met in the playoffs.
It was a local saying in St.Louis back in the ‘80s when the Mets – Cards had a pretty good rivalry going. So popular locally, that t-shirts were made.
Well the 86 Mets were kind of pond scum to be fair haha. But they were so good.
9 years in Baltimore, Buck did not have the reputation of having his pitchers habitually throw at hitters. Did it happen from time to time? Yes. The man is a strategist who wants to win. Did I agree with everything he did here in Baltimore? Nope. But you could see he had purpose behind it all. Miss him.
Manager is only getting suspended for the pitcher’s actions. No one thinks Buck is telling dudes to beam fellas. Also let’s be real. Phillies pen is terrible and Lopez stinks too. Control issues are going to happen. I just don’t think the Mets can whine anymore since they’ve been involved in a few controversial incidents recently. But overall, I think this is all silly. There’s no conspiracy here.
Phillies pen is very good but not currently pitching up to potential.
I like the backend of the pen a lot, but outside of that, I think they have the same old problems. And I know it worked on Saturday, but you cannot bring in Alvarado with the bases loaded. He’s too wild. Bone-head move by Girardi that cost the Phillies big on Sunday.
the bullpen has been fine. it wasnt great last night, but Joe screwed the pooch with how he used it.
Joe isn’t looking too good right now
It’s bean, not beam.
Haha. Yes. That’s a mistake I see and make often. I wonder why? Lazer beam maybe? Interesting slip.
For all the alpha males on here criticizing Buck for what he allegedly said/did…first a factoid: 20 times. 20 times his players were hit. Including Alonso getting it twice in the melon. There’s times when you must take matters into your own hands. Recall CC’s famous $250k beaning. Buck’s players know what time it is. Somebody has to pay. Despite MLB’s protests to the contrary, it is a dog eat dog world. And to survive you need sharp teeth. Bravo Buck.
I’m not sure a single Met batter has gotten hit on purpose this year. However they have been pitched up and in which is dangerous. If you don’t have good control, don’t pitch up and in. If you still do, that’s reckless, which angers hitters being hit in the head. Also, stop picking on Von. VPH is one of the most objective fans on here.
*ROCHESTER RABBITS
*SIOUX CITY SCUMSUCKERS
It’s about time the Mets pushed back. Other teams have been doing this to us for a decade with no retaliation
You seriously think your a victim? Decades? Don’t be foolish, it’s just been this year and 90% of the time it was accidental.