Mets' Bassitt: MLB doesn't care about 'bad' baseballs causing more HBPs
New York Mets right-hander Chris Bassitt expressed his concern about the baseballs MLB is using during the 2022 season as more batters are being hit by pitches to begin the campaign.
"I had some close calls tonight. I've been hit in the face. I don't ever want to do that to anybody ever. MLB has a very big problem with the baseballs. They're bad. Everyone knows it. Every pitcher in the league knows it," Bassitt said Tuesday after the Mets' 3-0 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, per SNY.
"They don't care. MLB doesn't give a damn about it. They don't care. We've told them our problems with them. They don't care."
Bassitt's frustration came after five players, including three Mets, were hit by pitches during Tuesday's game.
Among the players plunked was Pete Alonso, who was struck in the head for the second time this season.
Things got a liiiiiiittle testy in St Louis tonight after Pete Alonso was hit in the head with a breaking ball from Kodi Whitley.
ā Just Baseball (@JustBBMedia) April 27, 2022
He had some words going down to first base and Buck Showalter was unhappy, but things remained relatively calm.
The Mets won the game 3-0 šµš pic.twitter.com/KZuB7B92lJ
MLB began using newly manufactured balls during the 2022 season, according to The Athletic's Eno Sarris and Ken Rosenthal.
The new balls were created in an attempt to reduce the number of "three true outcomes" (home runs, strikeouts, walks) while also creating more game action with more balls put in play, Sarris and Rosenthal add.
While the balls have helped reduce MLB's overall batting average and return home run totals to what they were in the mid-2010s, Bassitt doesn't approve of them because of inconsistencies that put players' health and safety in jeopardy.
"They're all different," Bassitt explained. "The first inning, they're decent. The third inning, they're bad. The fourth inning, they're OK. The fifth inning, they're bad. Then we have different climates. Everything is different. There's no common ground with the balls. Nothing is the same. Outing to outing, they're bad."