Atlanta Braves second baseman Whit Merrifield blasted the current state of pitching in MLB after he was in the head by a pitch during the bottom of the seventh inning of Tuesday's win over the Colorado Rockies.
Merrifield, facing Rockies relief pitcher Jeff Criswell, took a 94 MPH fastball directly off of the back of his helmet, causing him to fall to the ground, where he remained for a few moments. Merrifield yelled at Criswell before he exited the game and headed toward Atlanta's dugout.
Speaking to reporters after the game, the nine-year MLB veteran angrily took exception to pitchers' propensity to throw "up and in" in the current age of pitch velocity.
“The guys are throwing as hard as they can and they don’t care where the ball goes. It is driving me nuts and I hate where the game is at right now with that.”
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A frustrated Whit Merrifield discusses getting hit in the back of the head during tonight’s game⤵️ pic.twitter.com/qZpTFT8LwM
"It's just ridiculous," Merrifield said. "Where the game is at right now, it's just ridiculous. ... The way pitchers are throwing now, there's no remorse or regard for throwing up and in. Guys are throwing hard as they can and they don't care where the ball goes."
"It's bulls---. You can't hit a guy anymore back. There's no fear that, 'Oh if I hit this guy, then our guy is going to get hit.' That's not the game anymore. Pitchers don't have to hit anymore, so they don't have to stand in the box."
As MLB has embraced technology and data, the average fastball velocity has skyrocketed. In 2008, the average big league fastball was clocked at 91.9 MPH. Now? Heaters flew in at an average speed of 94.2 MPH in 2023, according to Baseball America.
And pitchers seem to have less control over these increasingly-speedy offerings than ever. Of the top 15 seasons in MLB history in terms of hit by pitch rates, tracked since 1884, seven of them have occurred in the last seven campaigns (2018 to 2024).
Merrifield, who mentioned numerous teammates and MLB stars who have missed time after getting hit, feels something has to change before things become even more dangerous.
"It's just ridiculous and it has to be fixed or God forbid, something terrible is going to happen. If this hits me in a different spot -- it's just pathetic."
"It's frankly pathetic some of the pitchers we're running out there that don't know where the ball is going at the major-league level. And it's got to be fixed."
Merrifield, one of three hitters on MLB's Competition Committee since 2022, said he plans to address this issue during a meeting Wednesday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Braves' Whit Merrifield Blasts ‘Pathetic’ MLB Pitchers After Getting Hit in Head.
