Mets Do The Wrong Thing (Again)

Jorge López was DFA'd after his glove throwing incident. But, it seems like, yet again, the Mets' PR staff set up another player to fail.

Jorge López, the 31-year-old middle reliever, was designated for assignment after Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he gave up two runs while only getting one out. It marked the third consecutive game in which he gave up at least one run.

On the surface, the move looks like a typical Major League Baseball transaction. Relievers come and go. Lopez will be picked up by another team at some point soon and, as with most relievers, he’ll probably rebound and pitch well. Or, maybe he won’t. That’s the crapshoot with middle relievers.

This move, however, was different. This move felt wrong in many ways.

Lopez did have the outburst after being taken out of Wednesday’s game, yelling at the opposition, tossing his glove into the stands and leaving his hat on the field. There is no excusing that type of behavior even if there could be some extenuating circumstances behind it. Any parent can empathize with a father who is watching his child suffer. It doesn’t excuse the behavior, but it does yield some sort of empathy for what he is experiencing.

Yet, the Mets did not have that sort of empathy. In a culture where the concept of team is preached, the Mets failed. The Mets failed to provide “one of their own” with the help necessary to deal with emotions. Lopez does have a history of emotional outbursts, even spending time on the disabled list as a member of the Minnesota Twins to cope. The Mets knew the history; The Mets knew about his son. The Mets acquired Lopez because they thought he could help them win. With their latest disaster of a season and Lopez’s recent run of poor performances, his “baggage” was no longer needed.

And, you could tell that he was no longer needed when the Mets public relations staff didn’t insist on an interpreter for him after the game. A team who cares about their players would never allow someone in an emotional state to talk to the media alone; A team who cares about their players would never allow someone in an emotional state to talk to the media in their second language without backup.

The Mets’ negligence led to a small firestorm about what Jorge Lopez was trying to say to the media. Clearly, he said that he was, “the worst teammate probably in the whole F***ing MLB.” Some thought he said that the Mets were the worst team so follow up questions were asked. It was clear that Lopez wasn’t sure what reporters were asking so headlines were made about something he didn't even say. He has since posted on Instagram an apology and clarification.

The New York talk sports radio hosts went in, specifically Boomer Esiason, the former NFL quarterback. To Esiason’s credit, he did issue a public apology on air once he learned about Lopez’s son. But, the fact is that Lopez’s name was dragged through the headlines for something he didn’t say.

All of that is on the New York Mets.

How could they not insist on an interpreter?

How could they not release a statement to clarify what was actually said?

How could they not provide emotional support to a player who not only has a history, but is also going through quite a bit of trauma?

They thought enough to acquire him, but didn’t think enough to support him.

Let’s focus on the interpreter issue.

The main function of any PR staff is to protect the players and organization. The reason why PR staffs exist is so that players are provided with guidance to deal with the media. Failing to have an interpreter there for one of the players, even if the player insists on not needing one, is a dereliction of that duty to protect. It’s simple; have the interpreter right there just in case. When Lopez was questioned about him saying that the Mets were the worst team, the interpreter could’ve stepped in and helped clarify to Lopez in his native language.

What happened to Lopez was a form of racism. To be clear, it was not the media’s fault for asking the follow up questions. It is their job. However, the Mets put a player who was still under their employ in a position to fail and to be embarrassed.

This isn’t the first time that the Mets have done this. Back in 2013, I was sent by USA Today Baseball Weekly to cover, then rookie, Zack Wheeler’s start. During that season, the Mets had a reliever, Frank Francisco, on the roster. Francisco, a native of the Dominican Republic, was to be interviewed after the Sunday contest. A member of the Mets’ PR staff announced to the media that Francisco would be “attempting” the Q+A in English without an interpreter and that the members of the media should “speak slower.”

I remember being dumbfounded that the player would be put in that situation without any backup and that media members were told to speak slower. The man was not dumb; he was speaking in his second language. Again, why would the Mets put a player in that position?

The Francisco interaction was benign, other than certain members of the media being really offended by the Mets. But, the Mets failed to provide protection for their employee. They did even worse, 11 years later, when they left an emotional pitcher who has so much going on in his life talk to the press in his second language without any protection.

It’s funny how the Mets’ stance on Lopez and his release is that he crossed a line with his emotional outburst. Nobody is saying that Lopez throwing his glove in the stands was the right thing to do, nor is yelling at the other team and umpires. But, one can’t help but wonder why Lopez was released for that and Pete Alonso was never even once publicly chastised by the Mets organization for his humping of the dugout railing last season.

Yet, Jorge Lopez is not only DFA’d for throwing a glove, but is criticized by the Mets Manager publicly for behavior that went “over that line”. So, the Mets are good with railing humping, but not being emotional about poor performance and tossing a glove into the stands? Ok, got it.

Sure, there are differences. Alonso is a star player and probable franchise cornerstone. Alonso was also humping the railing in a celebratory way. Lopez is a middle reliever on his sixth team in nine years. Lopez’s emotional outburst was a result of poor play during a terrible stretch in the team’s season. That’s different.

Alonso is also white and English is his first language.

That’s different and may be the only real difference that matters in the way the Mets’ organization reacted to both players’ behavior during a Major League Baseball game.

Jorge Lopez will find work in Major League Baseball this season. Even the Mets said that his release was not performance related. Hopefully, he will go to an organization that will provide the necessary support. And, hopefully, he can find success on the field while he handles all of the duties of being a Father to his son.

As for the Mets, let’s hope that owner Steve Cohen truly changes a culture that doesn’t look much different from the infamous Wilpon era.