NEW YORK — Even on a new team in a different division, it took all of one game for
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“He’s had some pretty questionable slides at second base, for sure,” McNeil said. “Definitely remember looking at some in the past that were definitely not OK. So I knew there was a possibility that might happen. And it did.”
Hoskins said after the play, he initially stayed down in the dirt to let McNeil vent.
“I kind of like laid there afterward. A couple of guys said, I thought maybe you hurt yourself. But I was just kind of letting whatever McNeil needed to get out, let him get it out,” Hoskins said. “And I just kind of ran off the field after that, and got to see everybody on the team out there.”
Hoskins and the Mets have had issues before. New York reliever Jacob Rhame threw up and in on Hoskins a couple of times in 2019, and the slugger took 34 seconds to trot around the bases on a home run against the Mets.
Hoskins missed last season with Philadelphia because of a knee injury, then signed a $34 million, two-year contract with Milwaukee in January to become the team’s new first baseman.
“You get a guy who misses a year and that’s horrible to see. And then you go right back and try to put a spike into someone’s leg. It’s tough,” McNeil said. “Don’t want to wish injury on anyone. It’s tough seeing him miss a year. Felt extremely bad when I saw him go down. Just a tough circumstance there.”
The Mets challenged the play for a slide violation, but the call stood following a replay review.
“It’s a late slide. Obviously, we didn’t like it, Jeff didn’t like it, but it’s legal,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He held onto the base and it’s considered legal. Apparently there’s some history there between them, too, and that’s what got Jeff heated there.”
Asked if he thought the slide was clean or dirty, McNeil said: “It was a legal slide, so I just want to leave it at that.”
McNeil also said he’s not looking for any retribution the rest of the weekend.
“I hope not. I don’t want this to be something,” he said. “I just want to go out and play good baseball and try to win the series.”
