All is not well up in Queens. Is it ever?
The latest unfortunate event surrounding the New York Mets involved reliever Jorge López, who was ejected from Wednesday’s loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers for throwing his glove into the crowd in frustration.
A few short hours later, López was reportedly set to be designated for assignment. He also appeared to cause the first big firestorm in New York after reportedly saying he was on the “worst [expletive] team in MLB.”
But what did he actually say? English is not López’s first language. But while he conducted his postgame interviews in English without a translator, López speaks pretty clearly. Still, there was confusion about what was said and Lopez attempted to clarify several times.
Mets beat reporter Manny Gómez said López’s initial comment sounded closer to “I think I been looking (like) the worst teammate probably in the whole [expletive] MLB.” But after sideline reporter Steve Gelbs asked López for clarification to indicate if he’d said he was on the worst team in baseball, López said “probably, yeah.”
Off-camera, MLB.com reporter Anthony DiComo said López was asked once more for clarification, and López said it was a combination of the two, both being the worst teammate on the worst team.
On Instagram Thursday morning, López clarified for the final time that he meant worst teammate. “Who ever hear me, I said teammate and what I said on the situation I been the worst teammate thanks media for make it worse.”
López also stated he did not regret throwing the glove into the stands.
“I’ve loved this game since I was a kid,” López said. “It’s nothing to feel bad about. I’m the way I am… I’m not afraid to be me.”
López put up a 3.76 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 26.1 innings in 2024, bouncing back after a rough 2023 in Minnesota, Miami, and Baltimore. Now, he’s looking for a new MLB home.
