Jarred Kelenic’s emotional outburst during a tough at-bat on Wednesday night resulted in a damaged water cooler, a broken bone in his left foot, and deep regret.
The Seattle Mariners young left fielder was placed on the 10-day injured list with the broken foot, a consequence of his emotional outburst.
“I made a mistake. I let the emotions get the best of me there. I just feel terrible, especially for the guys,” Kelenic said, fighting back tears and expressing his frustration. “I just let the emotions get the best of me and I just let them down and take full responsibility for it. It’s on me. It just can’t happen.”
Jared Kelenic breaks down when describing how kicking a water cooler ended up causing his injury. 😳
(🎥: @RyanDivish)pic.twitter.com/cVoOjqGV9D
— theScore (@theScore) July 20, 2023
Seattle manager Scott Servais acknowledged that Kelenic’s emotions got the better of him, emphasizing that such incidents should serve as a learning lesson for all players.
“Players get frustrated when they’re not getting the results they’re looking for. But you’ve got to be able to control your emotions, and that’s part of being a professional. Last night he let it get the best of him, and it affects all of us,” Servais said.
The unfortunate incident occurred in the ninth inning of the Mariners’ 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. During his at-bat against the Twins’ closer Jhoan Duran, Kelenic had a demanding nine-pitch battle that included fouling off several fastballs clocked at an impressive 103 and 104 mph.
Ultimately, Kelenic struck out on a breaking ball and vented his frustration by kicking a cooler when he returned to the dugout.
“Came up last night with the game on the line, two guys on against arguably the best closer in baseball. I just put together a good at-bat, was just grinding, and unfortunately couldn’t come through. And like I said, I made a mistake,” Kelenic explained, reflecting on the high-pressure situation.
X-rays taken after the game revealed the fractured foot, leading to Kelenic being put in a walking boot for an extended period. The team remains hopeful that surgery won’t be necessary, but Kelenic will need time to recover fully.
Teoscar Hernandez, a fellow Seattle outfielder, expressed his support for Kelenic during this difficult time, saying, “We got him. We got his back, and we’re going to support him in any way we can.”
In his third season with the Mariners, Kelenic has shown notable improvement at the plate, especially earlier in the year. He holds a batting average of .252 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI in 90 games.
“He’s had a nice season to this point. He’s made a ton of adjustments on the field, and you can see it. There are days when it looks great. There are other days it has been a struggle, like all young players,” Servais acknowledged.
“But at the end of the day, when you react like that, and I think the thing that hits him as hard as anybody, it not just affects him, it affects the rest of us.”
To fill Kelenic’s spot in the lineup, Seattle recalled outfielder Cade Marlowe from Triple-A Tacoma, and he made his major league debut in Thursday’s series finale against the Twins.
Do you feel bad for Kelenic? Or do you think he was an idiot and got what he had coming to him?
Jared Kelenic: breaks his foot kicking a cooler
Edwin Diaz: breaks his leg celebrating in the WBCMan, this trade really is cursed
— Pat's Stats (@PatsStats5) July 20, 2023
Jared Kelenic’s worst nightmare pic.twitter.com/IQVdqjCGe2
— Rhys White (@RhysBWhite) July 20, 2023