Buck Showalter, Billy Eppler spoke with MLB office about baseball grip

The Mets have been hit 19 times in 20 games, and a lot of those have been extremely scary moments for the players, coaches, and fans to witness. 

One moment came in St. Louis on Tuesday night, as Pete Alonso couldn't get out of the way of a heater to the head, which his helmet luckily saved him of. It's something Buck Showalter has had to address too much already this season, as he's been vocal about the grip on baseballs that his pitchers, and others around the league, have been struggling with. 

"Billy [Eppler] and I have been talking to the league," Showalter said prior to the Mets-Cardinals matinee Wednesday, during which J.D. Davis was hit in the ankle by a pitch. "We do our homework on the other teams, but I’m worried about one team. I’m not worried about the other 29 teams. I’ve talked to the league office today and Billy has and it’s a concern. It’s about safety and health. Trying to get your hands around why is more important. It’s pretty obvious that it’s an issue."

Showalter is one who has said he would like a universal substance that pitchers can use to get a better grip on the baseball. And while he doesn't believe these hit-by-pitches are intentional, it's still very concerning. 

"I had a moment last night I was holding Pete’s helmet and it was cracked. Can you imagine years ago when they didn’t have that?" Showalter said. 

Mets players, like Tuesday night's starter Chris Bassitt, didn't hold back about the problem.

"How long are we going to let this happen?" Bassitt asked. 

"It's extremely annoying to see your teammates constantly get hit, and if you get hit by certain pitches, it is what it is. But to get hit in the head the amount that we're getting hit is unbelievable."

Showalter gave a comparison to another pro sport that had an issue, specifically when it came to players delivering hits to the head.

“Football saw a problem and addressed it. It still happens some, but there’s a huge fine and penalty for it. Guys know that they’re not supposed to do that," he said.

At the end of the day, Showalter said MLB was "very receptive to conversation and trying to find a better way" and that "they are very protective of the game." But, after speaking with guys like Max Scherzer and others, Showalter hinted about wanting to go further than just drumming up conversations with the league.

“We’ve got something set up where we’re going to try to take it to another level about what we can do," he said. "It’s so easy to sit around and complain about things. What’s the solution?”

On Wednesday afternoon, MLB said in a statement shared by Pat Ragazzo that it's "always concerned about keeping hitters safe from dangerous pitches" and "closely" analyzes trends in the game, adding that they will continue to monitor the situation.