There was some commotion in the New York Mets’ dugout the seventh inning of Friday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citi Field. The SNY cameras showed Mets players such as Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, and Jonathan Villar running into the dugout tunnel in response to an apparent altercation. And the immediate speculation was that the altercation involved Mets infielders Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil.
Lindor and McNeil going at it in the tunnel? 👀 pic.twitter.com/VnAcOWIXBY
— Master flip 🇩🇴 (@Masterflip_) May 8, 2021
I know a lot of you are asking about the clubhouse tunnel situation that purportedly involved both Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil. I'm obviously not in the dugout and don't want to speculate. Have requested the Mets make both players available in the postgame Zoom room.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 8, 2021
Well, after the the game, Lindor didn’t deny having an altercation with McNeil… but claimed they were simply debating over whether or not they saw a rat or raccoon in the dugout tunnel. Huh?
"We were going back and forth debating if it was a rat or a racoon"
SOUND UP to hear about what happened in the tunnel between Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil from Francisco himself 🤣 pic.twitter.com/REn66S6nf3
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 8, 2021
“It was funny. I told him, I was like ‘Hey, I had never seen a New York rat.’ So we went down sprinting, I wanted to go see a New York rat. He got mad at me and said ‘No, that’s not a rat, it’s a raccoon.’ I’m like ‘Hell no, man, it’s a damn rat. It’s a New York rat.’ It was just crazy; we were going back and forth debating if it was a rat or a raccoon. Crazy, man. Insane.”
Lindor certainly did a fantasic, hilarious job selling that one.
McNeil later joined in on that explanation, but clarifying that he actually thought it was a possum.
Here are some partial comments from Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and Luis Rojas on the rat/raccoon/possum situation: pic.twitter.com/WyrLykRX4m
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 8, 2021
Jeff McNeil is now telling the same story about a rat and a raccoon.
"To be honest, I thought it was a possum," McNeil said.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 8, 2021
And Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman had fun with it all on Twitter.
Still not sure if that was a rat or raccoon. However, great win for the squad! @Mets
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) May 8, 2021
On to the next! @Mets pic.twitter.com/NLZSLW8qAv
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) May 8, 2021
This is exactly what my brother @Lindor12BC sounded like. Lol https://t.co/Q5I3oiboxQ
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) May 8, 2021
It’s all much easier for the Mets to laugh about after finding a way to win the game 5-4 in the 10th; they trailed 4-2 at the time of the alleged rat/raccoon/possum incident. After signing a 10-year, $341 million deal with the Mets over the offseason, Lindor entered Friday night having the worst 25-game stretch of his career. But he hit his second homer of the season to tie the game in the seventh inning (shortly after the dugout incident)- and followed it up with a hilarious press conference.
