Whit Merrifield freaks out over dangerous fastballs: “My life was at stake”

ATLANTA – Whit Merrifield is fed up with pitchers losing control of the ball and hitting batters with their throws.

The veteran infielder became the latest in a string of Atlanta Braves players to be hit by fastballs when he was struck in the back of the head by Colorado Rockies rookie Jeff Criswell on Tuesday. Merrifield said Major League Baseball needs to do something about the situation before someone gets seriously hurt — or worse.

“The current score is just ridiculous,” said Merrifield, who was hit by a 94.5 mph pitch in the seventh inning of the Braves’ 3-0 victory that left a welt just behind his left ear on the top of his neck. “I hate the current score with something like that.”

Merrifield, a player representative on MLB’s competition committee, yelled at Criswell while he was being treated on the field and again as he left the field with a Braves trainer. Merrifield passed concussion protocol tests but was headed for a CT scan after the game to rule out internal injuries.

He was hit by a 1-0 fastball after Criswell missed his first pitch slider wide inside.

Braves Travis d’Arnaud and Austin Riley were hit by up-and-in fastballs in consecutive games on Aug. 18 and 19 against the Los Angeles Angels. D’Arnaud missed five games with a forearm contusion and Riley landed on the injured list with a broken hand that is expected to keep him out of action for six to eight weeks.

Michael Harris II left a game on August 25 after being hit in the hand by a fastball from Nationals rookie DJ Herz in the first inning and left the game several innings later. X-rays and an MRI showed no fracture and he returned to the lineup two days later.

“We lost Riley, we almost lost Mike, we almost lost d’Arnaud, all in the space of two or three weeks,” Merrifield said. “The way pitchers throw today, they don’t care if the ball goes up or in. Guys throw as hard as they can, they don’t care where the ball goes. And it’s just… it’s bullshit.”

Merrifield wasn’t finished letting off steam yet.

Not even close.

“You can’t hit anybody (in revenge) anymore,” he said. “There’s no fear of, ‘Oh, if I hit that guy, our guy will get hit.’ That’s not part of the game anymore. Pitchers don’t have to hit anymore, so they don’t have to stand in the box. And teams are putting pitchers on the field who don’t know where the hell the ball is going. They’re throwing 100 miles an hour, so it’s, ‘OK, we’ll see if he gets the guys out. Just stand in the middle and throw as hard as you can.’ And that’s bullshit — and it drives me crazy.”

He said something had to be done and he would do everything in his power to help resolve the situation.

“I’m on the rules committee and we have a conference call (on Wednesday),” he said, “and it’s going to be a long conversation about what we need to do to get pitchers thinking about it … I just hit 95 right on the head. I’m very fortunate that it put me in a good spot, and I have to go for a CAT scan. I’m out of the game, he gets to stay in the game and pitch, I probably won’t be able to play tomorrow.”

Criswell, 25, was making his seventh MLB relief appearance. He pitched 1 2/3 innings on Tuesday, allowing one hit, one run and three walks with one strikeout. He threw just 23 strikes in 41 pitches.

“No consequences for him, and I mean without being overly dramatic, my life was on the line,” Merrifield said. “I’m sick of it, it happens way too often. I saw Taylor Ward get hit in the face last year and have to have reconstructive surgery. Justin Turner got hit in the face last year. It happens exponentially. Guys get hit in the hand, Mookie Betts broke a bone in his hand this year. It’s just ridiculous and it needs to be fixed. Or, God forbid, something terrible will happen.

“If it hits me in another place, I mean … it’s just pathetic. It’s honestly pathetic that some of the pitchers we put out there don’t know where the ball is going at the major league level. That needs to be fixed. It just makes me mad to no end.”

(Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)