Jorge López cut by Mets after throwing temper tantrum — and glove — against Dodgers
Mets relief pitcher Jorge López threw a temper tantrum during a blowout loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.
He also threw his glove — way up and over the protective netting behind the Mets dugout and into the stands at Citi Field after being ejected from the game.
And López threw in a couple of f-bombs during a postgame interview that likely will end up being his last official act as a member of the Mets, who designated the right-hander for assignment Thursday.
The Puerto Rican veteran might have known what was coming the previous night, when he told reporters he felt the Mets were embarrassed by his behavior and wasn’t sure they wanted to keep him.
“I’m ready to come back tomorrow if they want me [to] be here,” said López, a native Spanish speaker who conducted the interview in English.
The Dodgers seem to have put the poor hitting behind them as they have a big day on offense in win over Mets.
Asked if he regretted his actions, though, López calmly stated, “No. I don’t regret it.”
López signed with the Mets, his sixth team in nine seasons, during the offseason. He appeared in 28 games and has a 1-2 record with a 3.76 earned-run average in 26-1/3 innings.
He entered in the top of the eighth inning with one out, runners on first (Miguel Rojas) and third (Gavin Lux) and the Mets trailing 5-3. López gave up a double to Miguel Vargas, scoring Rojas and Lux, then forced Mookie Betts to fly out before surrendering a two-run home run to Shohei Ohtani for a 9-3 Dodgers lead.
After falling behind Freddie Freeman with a 3-and-1 count, López earned his ejection by angrily arguing a check-swing call with third-base umpire Ramon De Jesus. As he was leaving the field, a frustrated López hoisted his glove high into the air with an underhand toss. It was caught by a fan in the second row along the first-base line.
Commissioner Rob Manfred says MLB players prefer a challenge system to replacing umpires with the automated ball-strike robot currently used in triple A.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that López’s behavior was “not acceptable” and that the situation would be handled internally. “It definitely doesn’t look good,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said.
López described the incident to reporters as “just a misunderstanding” between him and De Jesus. He said his reaction was “out of emotion,” before adding, “I don’t give a f— to anything.”
Some parts of López’s comments were difficult to understand. In one such instance, it initially was reported that he had referred to the Mets, who are 22-33 and already 16 games out of first place in the National League East, as “the worst team in the whole f— MLB,”
On Thursday, López posted on his Instagram Story that he had been misheard and actually had referred to himself as “the worst teammate” in the league.
“Thanks media for make it worse,” López wrote.
Umpire Angel Hernandez, at the center of controversy over his in-game calls amid an unsuccessful effort to sue MLB for racial discrimination, is retiring.
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