Before he came to the New York Mets , veteran DH Jesse Winker was not beloved by the Mets’ fan base because of some of his in-game antics when he was on other teams, such as the Cincinnati Reds.
In fact, Winker has turned himself into a villain in the eyes of several MLB franchises. One example of this is with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he played during the 2023 season. Winker went viral for an argument he had with former Brewers star shortstop Willy Adames during the 2024 NL Wild Card series.
This caught the attention of Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who coached Winker in 2023 and spoke out about his sentiment about the Mets’ DH during his May 28 appearance on Eric Hosmer’s ‘Diggin’ Deep’ podcast.
“The first conversation I ever had, [Brewers infielder Mike Moustakas] brought him over… I said, ‘Wink, you’re one of the best hitters in the league, but you kinda act like a d*****,'” Murphy said, as transcribed in a June 6 article from Manny Gómez of NJ Advance Media.
He then added, “Wink was generally offended, but was interested. Like, ‘Why do you say that?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re just trying to draw attention to yourself… you’re such a great hitter, man.’”
When Murphy was speaking about the interaction between Winker and Adames during last year’s playoffs, he said, “Some tough stuff was said [from Winker]. Like tough stuff. And that doesn’t go away. You don’t forget that when it’s that personal.
“I’m not blaming anybody, I’m just saying, it’s unfortunate. I’m sure that’ll work itself out,” he continued.
