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WASHINGTON — Sticky-substance checks might be offering peace of mind at the expense of a sense of security.
Mets manager Buck Showalter spent part of Friday afternoon talking with his coaching staff about how difficult it is for pitchers to get a firm grip on the baseball as the season begins. It was the topic du jour because James McCann (twice) and Pete Alonso were hit by pitches from the Nationals in an Opening Day victory.
“I’ve never quite figured out how hitters can have pine tar, batting gloves and wrap their bats — and everything to hold onto the tool they are supposed to work with — but a pitcher can’t,” Showalter said. “Does that seem fair? Hopefully we can find a happy medium, because it is a challenge right now with these guys gripping the baseball.”
It didn’t sound as if the Mets were looking to start a beanball war or ask ace Max Scherzer to start plunking his former teammates Friday as retaliation for what Showalter considers “a common theme” across MLB. There were eight hit by pitches in seven games Thursday.
“This isn’t some ‘See how big your tail is,’ ” Showalter said.
The crackdown last summer on Spider Tack and similar banned substances — enforced by random in-game umpire checks — have forced pitchers to rely on the approved rosin bag in the April cold.
“Will it be on our hitters’ minds? Not really,” Showalter said. “We can all very smugly say they should feel this way or they should feel that way. Until you sit in that box, [you can say], ‘It wasn’t really intentional,’ but, ‘It hit me in the mouth or in the shoulder or almost in the neck.’ If you’ve been hit by a pitch, it hurts. It’s our job, too, to understand reality.”
The scariest moment of Opening Day happened when Mason Thompson hit Alonso in the shoulder and the ball deflected into his face, leaving his lips swollen and mouth bloodied. Showalter, who managed his 3,071st game Friday, said he has been in situations in which he has stopped members of his staff from throwing inside.
“It’s dangerous,” Showalter said. “If their [catcher] sets up underneath the hitter and in, you better have command in there. I’ve done this with pitchers: If he doesn’t have command, you can’t let him pitch in there. Or you can’t let him make your club.”
The Mets had the most batters hit (234) across the 2019-21 seasons. Because admitting intent is asking for a fine and suspension, the excuse always is the same — and it’s a game of interpretation.
“I love how people say, ‘Well, we pitch inside,’” Showalter said before breaking into a sarcastic tone. “You’re the only one who pitches inside? You’re the only one who does that? Maybe we should steal it from you.”
Reminded of White Sox manager Tony La Russa’s unwritten policy that his pitchers would hit two opponents for every one of their teammates, Showalter chuckled.
“We had that disagreement one time,” he said. “I didn’t like his math.”
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