Red Sox Veteran Demands Justice for MLB Fans After Mets’ Mark Vientos Sparks Marlins Meltdown

After sweeping the division-leading Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets dropped their first match against the Marlins. Three costly errors costed them momentum, and when they entered the next match, they were quite hungry for runs.

The Mets had a 5 -0 lead after the first inning, and then they added seven more in the second, building a massive 12-0 lead. The night will be remembered for Mets top pitching prospect Jonah Tong’s debut, who allowed just 1 earned run in the 5 innings he pitched. But still in the bottom of the 8th, something happened that shouldn’t have.

Marlins’ manager sent their shortstop, Javier Sanoja, to pitch when the Mets were 8 runs ahead of them. And the Mets kept on scoring, adding 6 more runs, including Mark Vientos‘ homer off Sanoja’s sidearm meatball.

Former Red Sox veteran Jeff Frye blasted this decision and called for fan refunds on a tweet. It reads: “In what can only be considered an embarrassment to our National Pastime @Marlins second baseman Javier Sanoja making his 7th pitching appearance of 2025 gives up 6 earned runs in his 1 inning of mop up work including 2 HR’s. This one on a sidearm meatball to Mark Vientos. If @MLBteams aren’t going to try the fans should get a REFUND!”.

One former All-Star player stated that it’s “ruining the game and making a farce of statistics… It’s time they stopped making a mockery of the game,” according to Bob Nightengale.

Even in the words of former Braves ace and Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz: “It’s the most embarrassing thing I think there is. I think every once in a while you can say it’s cute, the fans kind of get on it. But when we’re having it at this alarming rate, I think baseball needs to do something about it. I know they’ve made a rule on when you can use that person, but you know what? At some point, people keep talking about, well, let’s just have a mercy rule. What are we doing?”.

Smoltz’s point about the rules raises the crucial question at the heart of this entire debate.

Rules, data, and why this keeps happening

Major League Baseball knows this is a problem and tried to fix it before the 2023 season. The league established three conditions under which it could happen. That is- 1. The game must be in extra innings, 2. The team must be losing by at least eight runs, and the 3rd. a team leading by ten or more runs in the ninth inning.

Despite these new rules, the problem has not disappeared. In fact, in 2024, the number of position players’ appearances was 88. And this year? As of late June, there have already been 61 instances. This dramatic surge is on pace to rival the record-setting 2022 season, as per FanGraphs.

And those numbers matter because offense has posted an 11.01 ERA and 7.30 FIP  against the position players in 2025 as of June, and it’s the second-worst till date after 11.71 in 2018, with a 9.51 FIP.

And history is filled with awkward and costly examples that show the complexity of the problem. Yermín Mercedes homered off Twins position player Willians Astudillo on a 3-0 pitch, and debate erupted in 2021. And in 2012, a 17-inning marathon between the Orioles and Red Sox ended when Orioles hitter Chris Davis earned the win against Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald. In that case, both teams ran out of pitchers.

There are several other events like Jose Canseco’s injury in 1993 and Dodgers utility player Enrique Hernández pitching several times, and the list goes on.

These moments explain why some veterans and analysts want stricter limits or different solutions. But the question remains: where does baseball go from here?