Braves second baseman White Merrifield exited Tuesday’s win over Colorado after he was hit in the back of the head by a pitch from Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell in the seventh inning.
Merrifield passed the concussion tests. Manager Brian Snitker said Merrifield was “a little starry eyed” when the team checked on him. The player hopes he’ll miss minimal time (Snitker suggested Merrifield felt he could perhaps even play Wednesday). He had a knot on his head, but the pitch also grazed part of the helmet.
“I got lucky,” Merrifield said. “Concussion test was good. I’m about to get a CT scan, a CAT scan to check the internal stuff. Hopefully that’s good to go.”
Merrifield was visibly angry after the pitch struck him, yelling at Criswell. He explained his frustration after the game. Merrifeld’s full response:
“It’s just ridiculous. Where the game is at right now, it’s just ridiculous. We lost (Austin) Riley, we almost lost Mike (Harris). We almost lost (Travis) d’Arnaud in a span of two or three weeks. The way pitchers are throwing now, there’s no regard for throwing up and in. Guys are throwing hard as they can and they don’t care where the ball goes. It’s (crap). 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. And the teams are bringing pitchers up that don’t know where the hell the ball is going. They throw 100 mph, so they’re like alright we’ll see if he can get the guys out. Just set up down the middle and throw it as hard as you can. And it’s (crap). It’s driving me nuts. I hate where the game is at right now with that.
“I’m on the rules committee and we have a call tomorrow. It’s going to be a long conversation about what we need to do to make pitchers think about – I just took 95 (mph) right off the head. I’m very lucky that it got me in a good spot. And I have to go get a CAT scan. I’m out of the game. He gets to stay in and pitch. I’m probably not going to be able to play (Wednesday). No repercussion on his part. I mean, without being over dramatic, that was my life on the line right there.
“So I’m sick of it. It’s happening way too much out there. I watched Taylor Ward get hit in the face last year and have to get reconstructive surgery. Justin Turner got hit in the face last year. It’s happening at an exponential rate. Guys are getting hit in the hand. Mookie Betts broke a bone in his hand this year. 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.”
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