Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Mets reliever Jorge López denies calling own team worst in ‘whole f—ing MLB’ after glove-throwing tirade

Mets reliever Jorge López denies calling own team worst in ‘whole f—ing MLB’ after glove-throwing tirade

The New York Mets reliever Jorge López insisted Thursday morning that he had actually meant to insult himself, not his own team, in a heated post-game press conference the night before.

López had an eventful Wednesday as part of a 10-3 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers (box score), surrendering a home run to Shohei Ohtani; chucking his glove into the crowd following an ejection; and then expressing no regret for his actions when speaking to reporters after the game.

But the takeaway quote, in which beat reporters said he called the Mets “the worst team in probably the whole f—ing MLB,” was wrong, López said Thursday after being asked multiple times to clarify Wednesday night. Instead, he said, he called himself the worst “teammate,” he posted on Instagram.

López’s trouble began when he took over for Adam Ottavino in the top of the eighth inning. He subsequently surrendered a double to Miguel Vargas and induced a fly out from Mookie Betts before giving up a home run to Ohtani that made the score 9-3. López thought he had generated a swinging strike from Freddie Freeman that would’ve made the count 2-2; instead, third-base umpire Ramon De Jesus insisted Freeman had held up, giving him a 3-1 advantage in the count. 

López and De Jesus then barked at one another, resulting in De Jesus tossing López from the game. Predictably, López did not take well to that decision. As he exited the field, he chucked his glove over the netting that protects the crowd from foul balls:

After the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza labeled López’s acts as “not acceptable” and said they would be dealt with internally. López, for his part, said that he didn’t regret throwing his glove into the crowd. He then cast doubt upon whether or not he’ll remain on the roster. “I’m ready to come back tomorrow if they want me to be here,” he said. Instead, the Mets designated López’s for assignment Thursday. 

Mendoza addressed the media on the matter Thursday after López’s DFA (via SNY). “We have standards here and I told you guys yesterday that behaviors like that, we weren’t going to tolerate. That’s why we made the decision, we addressed it and now we’ve got the Diamondbacks.

“When you’re not playing well, guys will show emotions,” Mendoza said. “There’s frustrations. But there’s a fine line. Yesterday, he went over the line. We’re not going to tolerate that.”

When SNY sideline reporter Steve Gelbs asked López to clarify Wednesday night that he intended to call the Mets the worst team in the majors, the pitcher replied by saying, “yeah, probably.” He added that he felt his teammates looked embarrassed by his actions. (López later explained that he meant he looked like the worst teammate on the worst team, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.)

López, 31, entered Wednesday with a 3.12 ERA (122 ERA+) and a 1.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first 26 innings this season. It’s worth noting that he also had a rough outing on Tuesday, surrendering three runs (two of them earned) in an inning of work against the Dodgers. He received the loss in that decision, his second of the year. The Mets, by the way, have now lost three games in a row and eight of their last nine. Following Wednesday’s loss, they’re 22-33 on the year, putting them in fourth place in the National League East.

It’s easy to understand, then, why López may be feeling frustration with both his and his team’s performance over recent days. Unfortunately for him, he may have more reason to feel annoyed come Thursday.

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