Just about every radio show in New York went after Jorge López Thursday.
However, perhaps the most popular radio host in the city — and the country — walked back his criticism of the New York Mets pitcher after learning about a “serious situation” in the pitcher’s personal life.
López launched his glove into the stands after being ejected Wednesday, and, after the game, he appeared to say he played for the “worst team in the whole f—ing MLB.”
He claims he said he is the worst teammate.
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In his very first segment of his morning radio show, WFAN host Boomer Esiason, the former NFL quarterback, said López’s behavior was “embarrassing,” and he “would have ripped him a new one.”
“You can’t have a player acting this way, saying these things, and you have to immediately get rid of them. This is part of a locker room culture problem, if you ask me,” Esiason said.
However, later on in the show, Esiason learned López’s 11-year-old son suffers from familial Mediterranean fever and is awaiting a transplant.
His opinion on López’s outburst totally changed.
“I can totally understand why you may lose it on the field the way that he did. And I could also totally understand now, why internally, (the Mets) may have handled it a little bit differently than I would have liked it,” Esiason said.
Esiason compared López’s situation to his own, because his son, Gunnar, suffers from cystic fibrosis.
“There was a year where I had to play without knowing what Gunnar was going through. And I know exactly how difficult that is trying to balance those two things. So, I just want to offer an apology to Jorge López from what I said this morning about how I thought Carlos Mendoza should have handled it.”
The Mets described López’s actions “unacceptable” and thought the appropriate punishment was to designate him for assignment, meaning they would try to find a trade partner, then either release him or send him to the minor leagues. But Esiason offered another route.
“Why wouldn’t the psychology of the Mets sit down with Jorge López and maybe put him on a 15-day mental health break? I’m just saying, it is Mental Health Awareness Month. We can make fun of it, because it’s the Mets, and it’s a mess and everything else, but there’s something serious going on in this young man’s life.
“I just wanted to offer an apology with the way that I went about it this morning. It’s just not appropriate, and I want to wish him and his family the very best. And, hopefully, he can get the help that he needs, not just the help his son needs.”
López allowed a two-run home run to Shohei Ohtani, which put a bow on the Dodgers’ six-run eighth inning. The Mets have lost 25 of their last 35 games.
It was already a bad day for the Mets, who had earlier placed Edwin Diaz on the injured list with a shoulder impingement. Then, Pete Alonso left the game in the first inning after getting hit in the hand by a pitch.
Their schedule isn’t getting any easier. They welcome the defending National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend.
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