Diamondbacks Closer Paul Sewald Gets Into Spat With Mets Fan

The bad blood lives on between Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald and his former team, the New York Mets. More specifically, the New York Mets fans.

Sewald made headlines late Saturday after getting involved in an altercation with a Mets fan after a win at Citi Field. In his account of the verbal spat, Sewald noted that the Mets fan had been vulgar in front of his kids, prompting him to jump in. He spoke with the New York Post, reacting to the dispute.

"I thought I had gotten over that. I didn’t come here motivated to pitch against these guys," Sewald told The Post. "It’s been a while. I think I’ve matured a little bit since the first time we came back in 2022."

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 2: Paul Sewald #38 of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitches during the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on June 2, 2024 in New York City. The Diamondbacks won 5-4. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 11: Paul Sewald #51 and Travis d'Arnaud #18 of the New York Mets celebrate after beating the Philadelphia Phillies 14-4 at Citizens Bank Park on April 11, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

The former Met, who played in Flushing from 2017 to 2020, has maintained an adversarial connection with the Mets faithful. And Sewald evidently finds motivation in facing his ex-team. In 2022, returning as a Mariner, Sewald admitted that the win felt satisfactory after ‘shutting up’ Mets fans. 

The pitcher played a bounce-back campaign for the Seattle Mariners following his tenure with the Mets, and has been solid in his early days with the Diamondbacks, signing with the club ahead of the 2023 season. 

As a Met, the pitcher faced tough times on the mound, making him an unpopular figure for a stretch with Mets fans. Sewald went 1-14, posting a 5.50 ERA in 125 appearances.

The pitcher added,  "But I get done with the game, and I got some P.O.S. just out there chirping and swearing, in front of kids, at me, and it just reminds me exactly of what I went through while I was here. So it was just a great reminder of my four years here, unfortunately."

"Can't print the stuff that (the fan) was saying," Sewald said. "Just disappointing he would do that in front of kids. He embarrassed himself. Just par for the course, I guess. I also said some things that I probably wouldn't want printed. It's just one of those things. It was frustrating that in a meaningless game, I didn't show any emotion, didn't feel like I took it over the top for him to do that, just disappointing."

Sewald got the final laugh Saturday, recording the final out in Arizona's 10-5 win over the Mets and 5-4 win on Sunday.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 04: Paul Sewald #38 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts to defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 in Game Two of the Wild Card Series at American Family Field on October 04, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

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