The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals may have a burgeoning rivalry on their hands after a series of hit batters during their series this week.
Tensions boiled over on Wednesday as Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado took exception to a pitch up and in and sparked a bench-clearing incident . After the game, Mets manager Buck Showalter suggested he was not too impressed with how Arenado conducted himself Wednesday.
When asked about Arenado’s reaction to the pitch from Mets reliever Yoan Lopez, Showalter simply pointed out that “our player got hit in the head” and reacted more calmly than Arenado did Wednesday.
Showalter is referring to Pete Alonso, who was hit on the helmet by a pitch Tuesday and went straight to first.
Showalter’s Mets have been hit by pitches 19 times, leading the league by a big margin. He is frustrated, as are his players, and he has made no secret of that. Clearly, he thinks Arenado has little right to complain, especially when his players aren’t reacting the same way.
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