Jeff Passan goes to war with former MLB player on X

ESPN insider Jeff Passan and former MLB player Doug Mientkiewicz got into a roast-filled spat Thursday, and all of Baseball Twitter can bear witness.

The fiery argument took place on X Friday, stemming from Passan’s Thursday post that described newly acquired Pirates prospect Edgleen Perez as having “excellent swing decisions.”

“Man what a time to be alive when a non baseball person writes ‘excellent swing decisions’ for a guy hitting .209 in A ball and is a career .241 hitter,” replied Mientkiewicz, who spent 12 seasons as a big-league first baseman. “I swear some scouts and writers will say anything to sound somewhat intelligent to non baseball people.”

Perez, a 19-year-old catcher, is one of the prospects Pittsburgh acquired from the Yankees in exchange for closer David Bednar ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.

Passan, never one to hold back on his critics, quickly responded to Mientkiewicz. 

“That description came from a scout, Doug,” Passan wrote. “Do you hate them, too, or are you just bitter because batting average is no longer the metric people care about and it’s the only one you were ever good at? Stay bitter, guy.”

Minetkiewicz, a 2004 World Series champion with the Red Sox, hit .271 across his MLB career, which included a seven-year stretch with the Twins and brief stints with the Mets (2005) and Yankees (2007).

He responded by writing: “Here is a line you should never forget.  I can do what you do, you can’t do what the players do. Bitter?  Not at all. Without players you have no job. Without scouts you have zero knowledge. Don’t forget it guy!”

That set Passan off, and the reporter responded with back-to-back fiery posts. 

First, he said, “It’s a good thing I’m trying not to play, Doug. The sad part is that you’re trying to think, and you are absolutely terrible at it,” before later adding:

“You had a good career. You were a good ballplayer. You did things I never could. That doesn’t give you license to say stupid things. I don’t know a lot — so I ask people who do. You think you know a lot — and those who actually do laugh at you.”

Mientkiewicz responded with the final word, for now, claiming that Passan got his feelings hurt, and that the insider should have credited whichever scout gave him the information about Perez’s swing. 

“Just give the people giving you info the credit like you give the players credit, Mientkiewicz posted. “Simple.”