During the first game of the Subway Series Monday, the New York Yankees were able to pull out the first game in the series 4-2 on an exciting night in the Bronx.
After going off on a different umpire last week, Anthony Rizzo showed his frustration to the umpires — particularly third-base umpire Dan Merzel — during Monday night’s game at Yankee Stadium.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Yankees were able to pull out to a 1-0 lead off a sacrifice fly from DJ LeMahieu, which led to a run from Andrew Benintendi, who tried to anticipate the pitch.
In reaction to Benintendi, Mets pitcher Max Scherzer tried to pick him off at third when Rizzo took off toward second, rattling Scherzer, who ended up accidentally throwing the ball into center field while Rizzo advanced to third.
However, Francisco Lindor apparently thought the play was illegal and started to complain to the umps. Whatever he said seemed to have worked, as they ordered Rizzo back to first, claiming that the play was a dead ball.
Rizzo, who was seen to be incredibly pissed off was vocal about the decision. Some on Twitter were able to decipher what the first basemen said, with most believing he mouthed the phrase “shut the f— up” toward what seems to be Lindor.
Mets tried appealing and Rizzo took off but was told to go back pic.twitter.com/L6GNSmeVbN
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 22, 2022
Fans on Twitter of course had their own opinions of the incident.
Umps still suck.
Robo umps soon please 🙏🏻— Mark (@hotcoffeeallday) August 23, 2022
I love that Rizzo just tells everyone to shut the fuck up
— Marty Mush (@martymush) August 22, 2022
I love Anthony Rizzo pic.twitter.com/EZsEEufjs0
— Jake (@JakeRepNY) August 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/itsmrevandaniel/status/1561858271568330757
Rizzo doesn’t know the rules of baseball so he starts crying. Just another day at yankee stadium
— SportsTalkNYM.com (@SportsTalkNYM) August 22, 2022
Whether the insult was directed towards Lindor or not, Rizzo is among a group of Yankees players who are fed up and frustrated with the team’s recent play in the past few games. Add in some good ole fashion incompetence from the umpires and there you have a perfect storm.
On the YES broadcast of the game, they revealed the call was made because Scherzer had his foot off the rubber and the batter wasn’t in the box, and the umps were in the right position to make the proper call.
Regardless, fans in the big apple seem to appreciate Rizzo’s awareness and passion that he plays with — making him a favorite among Bombers fans in only his first season.
