Marcus Stroman was unhappy that the New York Mets began their game against the Miami Marlins in a steady rain, and he lasted just nine pitches before play was stopped.
New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman leaves the field at the start of a rain delay during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, Sunday, April 11, 2021, in New York. The game was delayed at the top of the first inning due to rain.
Marcus Stroman criticized New York for starting Sunday’s game against the Miami Marlins in a steady rain. Stroman’s outing lasted just nine pitches before play was stopped, and the game was suspended after a wait of 2 hours, 10 minutes, to be continued as part of a day-night doubleheader on Aug. 31.
“This game should have never been started. Not smart at all,” Stroman tweeted during the delay. “Those conditions put everyone at risk. Beyond happy no players on either side were injured. Hate that I have to wait another 5 days to pitch again. That’s a miserable feeling.”
The Mets, known for confusion at times under the Wilpon and Katz families, were bought during the offseason by hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen, who brought back Sandy Alderson as team president.
Play began at 1:10 p.m. and was halted by plate umpire D.J. Reyburn after seven minutes. Home teams decide whether to start games. Once a game has begun, umpires decide whether to stop play because of bad weather.
“That’s how Stro is, is outspoken. He’s open, talking and he says what he feels,” Mets manager Luis Rojas said. “He did not share anything this morning. He gets ready. He was doing his routine. He was just waiting for the communication, whether we were going to start on time or not.”
Stroman later tweeted: “Media is always misleading in order to gain clicks off controversy. That’s the devil working.”
“My fault for being concerned about the safety of my teammates and I,” he wrote. “(Francisco) Lindor was standing in a puddle. Aguilar couldn’t hold his bat. I want to see everyone healthy for a full season!”
Rojas said Mets ballpark operations staff consulted with weather services, and he was the one who told Stroman the game was starting on time. Stroman was not made available to reporters after his brief outing.
Rojas did not think the starting pitcher should be consulted on whether to start in these types of situations.
