Jorge López Clarifies He Did Not Call Mets ‘Worst Team’ in MLB

Dan Gartland | May 30, 2024

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

New York Mets reliever Jorge López clarified in an Instagram post on Thursday morning that he did not insult his team in his now-viral remarks made after he was ejected from Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

López was ejected from the game shortly after giving up a two-run home run to Shohei Ohtani and threw his glove into the stands as he left the field. In the clubhouse after the game, López appeared to tell reporters that he felt he was “on the worst team in probably the whole f--king MLB.” But there was some confusion over what exactly he had said. A closer examination of the audio suggests that Lopez, who is from Puerto Rico and speaks English as a second language, instead said that he had acted as “the worst teammate” in the league.

"I think I've been on the worst team in probably the whole f--king MLB."

- Jorge López pic.twitter.com/NB0cDJ5w0i

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 30, 2024

In an Instagram post on Thursday morning, López clarified that he had said he was “the worst teammate.”

“Thanks, media, for [making] it worse,” he added.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that López was asked by SNY’s Steve Gelbs in the clubhouse immediately after the initial comment to clarify if he said he was on the worst team.

“Yeah, probably,” López said. “It looked like [it].”

The Athletic’s Will Sammon reported that a Mets staffer later asked López whether he intended to say team or teammate and López said he meant both.

López was designated for assignment by the Mets after his outburst. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reported that López’s comments, regardless of whether he said team or teammate, were not the reason he was removed from the roster. López also lied when he told reporters that he had not met with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza to discuss his actions and said he did not regret throwing the glove. Mets officials found López’s overall attitude “unacceptable,” DiComo reported.