Last week, things between the Phillies and Mets got heated, apparently over unwritten rules. With his team leading 9-0 in the ninth inning, Mets reliever Jacob Rhame threw a fastball up and in to Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who wasn’t a fan of the location. Hoskins got his revenge the next day, hitting a two-run home run off of Rhame. Hoskins took a 34-second trot around the bases, the longest trot in baseball and beating his previous record of 28.88 seconds. MLB later suspended Rhame two games for his actions and the Mets sent him down to Triple-A Syracuse. If he is recalled, he will have to serve his suspension out before appearing in a game.
The rivalry between the Phillies and Mets has continued at the Triple-A level. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) are in the midst of hosting the Syracuse Mets for a four-game series. As Rhame took the mound in the sixth inning of Monday’s game, the IronPigs played a video of Hoskins’ homer and trot around the bases, according to Nate Mink of Syracuse.com.
Syracuse manager Tony DeFrancesco was unhappy with the choice to play the video, giving IronPigs president and GM Kurt Landes a piece of his mind following the game. DeFrancesco said that what happens between the Phillies and Mets at the major league level has nothing to do with the clubs at the minor league level. Landes apologized and said he was unaware of the choice to display the video.
The Mets won Monday’s contest 7-5 and demolished the IronPigs 18-5 on Tuesday. Veteran outfielder Carlos Gómez said, “They didn’t respect (us), not only the pitcher, they don’t respect us as a team. They should not have played that video. We’re all professionals here.” Gómez added, “It’s good we beat them, so they can feel (us).”
Minor league teams have gotten more and more into the entertainment business, so this isn’t surprising. Even after the incident, the IronPigs continued to have fun at the Mets’ expense:
Normally we don't do this, but we've been getting a lot of questions about the Mets' lineup.
— Lehigh Valley IronPigs (@IronPigs) April 30, 2019
This should answer them all. pic.twitter.com/56P9r7GTyY
Even Rhame wasn’t miffed by Hoskins’ slow trot. After that game last week, he said, “He got me. Make a better pitch, he doesn’t get to run the bases.” It’s hard to imagine he was upset about the video being played.
This seems like good-natured ribbing from a rival affiliate. DeFrancesco should loosen his tie a little bit.