Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Austin Adams went viral on Tuesday night when he mocked the New York Mets’ “OMG” celebration. The righty also directed some not-safe-for-work language toward his former team after he got out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth inning of Oakland’s 9-4 win at Citi Field.
Current Mets players noticed and didn’t appreciate Adams’ actions.
“He crossed a line because that’s something we do when we hit a homer or something,” Mets closer Edwin Diaz told Bridget Reilly of the New York Post after the game. “He [can] do it always, that’s fine. But, he can’t get mad if we do something to him the next couple of days.”
As shared by Phillip Martinez of SNY, the Mets signed Adams this past offseason but designated him for assignment and later traded him to the Athletics before he ever tossed a meaningful pitch for the big-league club. He clearly felt he had a point to prove on Tuesday, but he suggested after Oakland’s win that his reference to the hit song released by veteran infielder Jose Iglesias earlier this season wasn’t personal.
“Honestly, I looked up and was so surprised I got out of it,” Adams said about his reaction. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And then it dawned on me, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ So then I did it. I mean, that song is sick. Iglesias is a good dude. So, hopefully, no one is offended. Just having fun.”
Such comments don’t explain why, as Manny Gomez of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com mentioned, Adams also appeared to yell multiple obscenities toward Mets players after he struck out catcher Francisco Alvarez to end the fifth inning on Tuesday night. Alvarez indicated after New York’s loss that he and his teammates were, in fact, offended that Adams mocked the song and celebration.
“We’ll meet again,” Alvarez warned while speaking with Gomez. “We’ll face each other again and the results might be different next time. He’ll have to hang his head and stay shut because if I hit a home run or a double, I’m going to celebrate and say things to him too. What he did was disrespectful to the game and to me.”
The 61-58 Mets host the lowly Athletics (51-69) again on Wednesday night before the clubs finish their three-game series in Queens on Thursday afternoon. It sounds like fans attending those matchups could see some fireworks involving players from both sides.
“I pitch on emotion,” Adams added. “I maybe need to do a better job of not doing that. But, at the end of the day, big-time situation in a game. Got some big outs, got the team a win. You know when you get DFA’d you’re told you’re not good enough to play for a team anymore. You know it sucks, so yeah, had a little extra juice today.”