Late Tuesday night, Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman responded to comments made by former Diamondbacks manager and current television analyst, Bob Brenly during the middle of Tuesday’s contest featuring the two teams.
Brenly, the former World Series-winning manager who now works for Bally Sports Arizona, commented on Stroman’s attire during the fourth inning.
“Pretty sure that’s the same durag that Tom Seaver used to wear when he pitched for the Mets,” Brenly said during the telecast.
Stroman responded to Brenly’s comments, saying on Twitter, “Onward and upward…through all adversity and racist undertones. The climb continues through all!”
He also retweeted a number of messages that criticized Brenly’s remarks, including one that read, “I am not surprised by this type of language towards African-American athletes. It’s the blatant racism and it’s been going on for a long time.”
Stroman quote-tweeted that message, writing, “Since I can’t say it because media will turn this against me somehow…”
As of Wednesday morning, Bally Sports Arizona has not publicly commented on the remarks.
Stroman allowed seven hits and three runs in six innings in his start.
At the end of the fifth inning, a verbal exchange between Stroman and Diamondbacks second baseman Jose Rojas led to players from both teams converging at first base and exchanging words.
“He was looking at me after I flew out. We made eye contact and then we had an exchange of words, but, I mean, just trying to get the guys going,” Rojas said. “You know, he’s out there throwing well, let’s try to mix things up there and stir the pot a little bit and get us going.”
The Mets went on to lose, 6-5, in 10 innings. Following the loss, they dropped to 26-21 on the season, but remain in first place in the NL East.
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