Merrifield fumes over ‘pathetic’ pitching after HBP

Whit Merrifield, after becoming the latest Atlanta Braves player to get hit by an errant fastball, blasted the “pathetic” current state of pitching in Major League Baseball, saying “something terrible is going to happen” if the sport doesn’t reintroduce repercussions for throwing wildly inside.

“It’s bulls—; it’s driving me nuts,” Merrifield said Tuesday after being hit in the head by a 94.5 mph fastball in the Braves’ victory over the Colorado Rockies. “I hate where the game is at right now with that.”

Merrifield left the game in the seventh inning after rookie right-hander Jeff Criswell‘s fastball plunked the part of the helmet just behind his left ear. Merrifield wobbled on one knee, yelling angrily toward Criswell while he was down, before finally walking slowly to the dugout.

“It’s just ridiculous,” he 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.”

Merrifield is a player representative on MLB’s competition committee and said he planned to have a “long conversation” with other committee members during a meeting Wednesday.

“Teams are bringing pitchers up that don’t know where the hell the ball is going,” he said. “They throw 100 miles an hour, so they’re like, ‘All right, 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 bulls—.”

Merrifield became the fourth Braves player in less than a month to get hit by a high-and-tight fastball.

Star third baseman Austin Riley is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering a broken hand when he was hit by a 97 mph pitch last month. Center fielder Michael Harris and veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud also missed time last month after being plunked, although both avoided serious injuries.

Merrifield mentioned all three of his teammates Tuesday and also cited other major leaguers who recently experienced major health scares due to inside fastballs.

“I watched Taylor Ward get hit in the face last year and have to get reconstructive surgery,” Merrifield said. “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.”

Braves manager Brian Snitker said Merrifield passed the concussion protocol and might be able to play Wednesday, but the nine-year veteran was still fuming after the game.

“I’m out of the game, but [Criswell] gets to stay in and pitch,” Merrifield said. “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.”