Ron Darling: 'Payment is due' for Mets players being hit by pitches

Former New York Mets pitcher and current analyst Ron Darling thinks it's past time the team responds to players being hit by pitches during games. 

"Do I think most of the time the Mets get hit by a pitch the pitcher is trying to hit them? I do not," Darling explained during the SNY broadcast of Thursday's game between the Mets and Washington Nationals, per Jimmy Hascup of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "More importantly, is that sometimes you have to pay as a team for your pitcher’s inability to throw the ball over the plate. It’s not like you’re trying to get revenge on a pitcher because you think he hit your hitters. It’s not about that. It’s about – if you are trying to search for velocity over pitchability and you don’t care about plunking a hitter because you don’t have control inside – payment is due." 

Specifically, Darling was referencing how Mets utility man Jeff McNeil was plunked in back-to-back games to give McNeil a share of the National League lead for most hit-by-pitches this season (14) heading into Friday's action. According to Baseball-Reference, the Mets ended Thursday leading all of MLB for most hit batters with 72. 

This is nothing new for the Amazins, as they set a new modern MLB single-season record for most hit batters last year. Darling indicated Thursday evening that enough is enough. 

"There are many times in a close game or a game that you needed that you couldn’t afford to hit a hitter," Darling remarked about sending a message without intentionally beaning an opposing batter. "So you spent a lot of time in their kitchen, moving their feet, brushing them back — all of those things."

Darling's comments were tamer than when Mets legend Darryl Strawberry suggested in the spring of 2022 that "somebody’s gotta charge the mound" so New York players would "let teams know that if they throw at you, they’re going to pay a price." 

For what it's worth, the disappointing 2023 Mets became sellers late Thursday night ahead of next week's trade deadline, meaning players still associated with the club have little to lose outside of some cash by retaliating if an offering from an opposing pitcher gets a little too close for comfort.