Jenrry Mejia earned his 26th save of the season on Friday night as the Mets beat the Nationals 4-3, however his post game celebration caused a bit of a stir.
After Mejia struck out Ian Desmond to end the game, he pointed at Desmond’ as if he were casting a fishing rod and then began reeling him in. It was hilarious.
Here's the Mejia celebration, ICYMI. RT @MLBGIFs: Reel 'em in, break 'em down. pic.twitter.com/SMl8oFiCIT
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) September 13, 2014
Apparently, and according to Adam Rubin, some players thought it was too over-the-top. Bryce Harper in the on-deck circle was among some Nats who were none too pleased, says Rubin.
“That wasn’t called for,” Denard Span said to reporters about Mejia’s antics. “No need for that.”
Terry Collins didn’t have a problem with it. “You’ve got to have some emotion in the game. We see it everywhere. …But, gosh, it’s a big win for us against a first-place team and there’s no reason not to be excited.”
Mejia says it’s all spontaneous and not scripted. “I just go out there and it’s like adrenaline. I just do what comes naturally. I just struck him out, and I did something to finish the game.”
Ian Desmond, who was the target of Mejia’s fish reeling, didn’t seem to mind it. “If you don’t like it, play better.”
Look, Jenrry Mejia is a refreshing departure from the norm. Let him celebrate all he wants. I only wish we had more personalities like him.
By the way, since the All Star break Jenrry Mejia is tied with Trevor Rosenthal for the National League lead in saves with 15. So yeah, keep on celebrating Jenrry…
