'It's driving me nuts': Merrifield takes issue with fastball to head

ATLANTA -- Whit Merrifield felt fortunate to pass all of the concussion tests that were performed after he was hit behind his left ear with a 94.5 mph fastball in the Braves’ 3-0 win over the Rockies on Tuesday night at Truist Park.

But the Braves second baseman was still seeing red as he talked about pitchers having no repercussions after hitting batters with pitches that are high and inside. He plans to address this when he speaks with other rules committee members during a previously scheduled meeting Wednesday morning.

“The way pitchers are throwing now, there's no remorse or regard for throwing up and in,” Merrifield said. “These guys are throwing as hard as they can and they don’t care where the ball goes. It’s just [crap] because you can’t hit a guy [back] anymore.

“There’s no fear that if I hit this guy, our guy is going to get hit. That’s not in the game anymore. Pitchers don’t have to hit anymore.”

Fortunately, Merrifield was capable of being this spirited. He could have suffered a significant injury when he was hit by Rockies reliever Jeff Criswell’s heater in the seventh inning. The ball didn’t not deflect off his batting helmet before hitting his skull.

“It caught me pretty flush,” Merrifield said.

As Merrifield remained on his knees in the batter’s box, he yelled back at Criswell, who was making just his seventh career appearance. He had a few more words for the young pitcher as he walked to the dugout.

The Braves were upset after catcher Travis d’Arnaud and third baseman Austin Riley were both hit by pitches during an August series against the Angels. d’Arnaud missed a week after being hit on the right forearm by veteran reliever José Cisnero. Riley was lost for the rest of the regular season when his right hand was fractured by Jack Kochanowicz, who was making just his fourth start at the time.

“Teams are bringing pitchers up that don’t know where the [heck] the ball is going,” Merrifield said. “They throw 100 miles an hour. So they’re like, ‘We’ll see if they can get the guys out. Just set up down the middle and throw it as hard as you can.’ It’s [crap] and it’s driving me nuts. I hate where the game is at right now with that.”

Merrifield was going to undergo a CT scan to make sure there wasn’t any structural damage to his skull, but as he talked with a big welt on his head, he was confident he had avoided any serious injury.

“I’m very lucky it got me in a good spot,” Merrifield said. “I’m out of the game. He gets to stay in and pitch. I’m probably not going to be able to play tomorrow. No repercussions on his part. And without being overdramatic, that was my life on the line right there.”