Announcer criticizes player's on-field behavior

UPDATE: After the game, Joey Estes issued a statement.

It was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Martín Gallegos of MLB.com .

“I was reacting out of emotion after the ball got way past Darell. I wasn’t reacting towards Darell. I’d never show up my boys. For people to not know who I am as a person kind of sucks. Darell is my boy. I’d never do that to my teammates.”

Ron Darling was an MLB pitcher before becoming an analyst for the New York Mets on SNY. As he was doing his current job on Wednesday, calling the game at Citi Field between the Mets and Oakland Athletics, Darling found himself criticizing the antics of someone in his former profession, A’s pitcher Joey Estes.

New York got on the board first with an RBI double from Mark Vientos in the second inning. Vientos ripped the ball toward Oakland third baseman Darell Hernáiz, who couldn’t come up with it. Estes was visibly frustrated with Hernáiz both on the field and in the dugout after the side was retired.

Darling and play-by-play man Gary Cohen discussed Estes’ antics.

“You see Estes’ reaction on the field,” Cohen said. “It was though he was incredulous that Hernáiz didn’t make what would have been a spectacular play.”

The SNY cameras then shifted to the Oakland dugout, where Estes kept his head down while walking by Hernáiz.

“Listen,” Darling said. “One thing I could not stand as a player and I can’t stand in the booth is one, showing up your infielders. Everyone is trying to make a play. There’s not one person in the history of the game that tried to make an error. And two, when you give up a shot like that and it gets by, you should never have that reaction. And you should never rebuff him when you’re coming into the dugout. You give him a slap on the fanny and say, ‘Hey, great try. We’ll get ’em.'”

Cohen then suggested that a pitcher who does act that way on the field should quickly seek out his teammate in the dugout and apologize. Darling agreed.

“That’s right,” Darling said. “Just say, ‘Hey, listen. I lost my mind out there.’ Whatever. Because everything is seen now, as we know. We’re part of the problem. But when you come on the bench, part of being a good teammate is making sure everyone — you’re on their side. They’re on you’re side. And we’re trying to battle together. It’s not me against them. It’s us against them”

“And we’re talking about young players,” Cohen said. “Estes is a rookie. Hernáiz is a rookie. You’re supposed to have each other’s back.”

“Sometimes you do things that you don’t want to do, sometimes you say things that you don’t want to say,” Darling added. “But that’s a teachable moment for [Mark Kotsay] and his staff. To make sure that never happens again.”

Yes, Hernáiz could have come up with the ball. But that’s not a play that even Major Leaguers are expected to make. The ball was simply hit too hard.

Darling is not one to hide his criticism. Earlier in the season, he was highly critical of Mets pitcher Luis Severino for failing to back up a throw. Much like that, his criticism of Estes on Wednesday was warranted.

[Photo/Video Credit: SNY on X ]

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