After a run-in that resulted in Todd Frazier’s ejection, Jake Arrieta threatened the New York Mets third baseman in his postgame comments.
Trash talk is one thing, but what Jake Arrieta said on Saturday was classless. Arrieta hit Todd Frazier with a changeup in the fifth inning that ended with the New York Mets third baseman getting the quick hook for chirping on his way to first base.
After the game, Arrieta had fighting words for Frazier.
"Frazier's not happy about it he can come see me. I'll put a dent in his skull."
Jake Arietta is a liiiiiiiittle mad about Todd Frazier being mad pic.twitter.com/OEjy1zo8ZG
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 7, 2019
“If Frazier’s not happy about it, he can come see me,” Arrieta said. “I’ll put a dent in his skull.”
Quite literally, Arrieta is threatening to hit Frazier in the head next time they face each other. This warrants some kind of punishment from the league office.
To be clear, the three batters Arrieta hit didn’t look intentional. The pitches looked more like off-speed stuff that got away from Arrieta. After all, the Philly hurler has been a shell of his former Cy Young self this year. After allowing 11 hits, five earned runs, and three hit batters, Arrieta’s ERA has ballooned to 4.67.
That being said, Frazier wasn’t completely out of line for being miffed. Anytime a pitcher starts plunking multiple batters, even if it’s unintentional, tensions are going to start to flare.
Throwing at your opponent has been a part of the game for as long as baseball has been played. However, we’re at the point in time where we can all acknowledge throwing at someone’s head crosses the line. For that matter, threatening to throw at someone’s head shouldn’t go unpunished either.
