The tension had been building for at least 2 ½ weeks between Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil when it reached a boiling point on May 7 in the tunnel that connects the Mets dugout to the clubhouse at Citi Field.
Details weren’t divulged by the players involved or organization at the time, but The Post has learned the specifics of what transpired in the “Rat/Raccoon” altercation from that night.
The shortstop Lindor, frustrated by the second baseman’s latest positioning gaffe and their ensuing argument, grabbed McNeil by the throat and pinned him against a wall in the tunnel, according to multiple industry sources. Before the situation could escalate, Mets players hearing the commotion arrived to break it up.
After the Mets beat Arizona 5-4 in a walkoff, neither Lindor nor McNeil would acknowledge the altercation other than to say an animal had been spotted in the tunnel and the two players were arguing over whether it was a rat or raccoon, prompting Mets players to the scene.
It’s an explanation team officials refused to confirm, realizing the absurdity of the story from the public’s view.
Lindor had been visibly flustered on the field after McNeil, lined up to the left of second base in the shift, ranged too far toward the hole in pursuing Nick Ahmed’s grounder. Lindor fielded the ball and McNeil ducked, allowing the shortstop a throw to first base. But Lindor’s brief hesitation on the throw may have cost him any chance at throwing out Ahmed, who was safe.
McNeil had two previous defensive positioning miscues involving Lindor, two weeks earlier at Wrigley Field. At some point – either before or after the series at Wrigley – manager Luis Rojas had threatened to bench McNeil if he didn’t get on board with the team’s shifting. Rojas, according to sources, made good on that threat, but it’s unclear if the benching occurred on April 22 in Chicago or April 25 at home against the Nationals – McNeil was absent from the starting lineup for both games.
Lindor’s anger with the situation apparently stemmed as much from McNeil’s dismissive attitude toward the positioning issues as the actual mistakes.
“[Lindor] would always try to get him to move and Jeff would be like, ‘Shut up, I got it,’ ” a club source said. “It was building and building.”
McNeil’s agent, Joe Longo, declined comment on the Lindor/McNeil altercation. Lindor’s agent, David Meter, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
After the blowup in the tunnel in which sources said Lindor grabbed McNeil by the throat and pinned him against a wall, the two players appeared to reconcile. But the Lindor-McNeil double play combination soon dissolved, more because of circumstances than a personality conflict.
McNeil was placed on the injured list just over a week later with a strained left hamstring and missed the next month. After he returned, the tandem started 18 games together before Lindor was sidelined with a strained oblique. When Lindor returned from the IL in August his new double play mate was Javier Baez, acquired from the Cubs at the trade deadline. McNeil played primarily left field with Lindor and Baez entrenched in the middle infield.
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