Jesse Winker is not rushing to alter his image as the new antagonist for the Milwaukee Brewers.
On Tuesday, the designated hitter for the New York Mets hit a home run, contributing to a 7-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, which allowed the Mets to take a 2-1 lead in the National League Division Series. A win on Wednesday would propel the Mets to the NL Championship Series, occurring less than a week after they surprised the Brewers in Game 3 of their wild-card series.
Winker, who faced jeers from Milwaukee supporters during his appearance with the Mets in the series, expressed to the New York Post that he does not feel disheartened about leaving American Family Field behind.
Winker expressed his enduring resentment towards Milwaukee, stating, “I will hate them forever,” in a conversation with Mark W. Sanchez.
Winker, who demonstrated a notable comeback with the Nationals and Mets in 2024, clearly showed that he was still dealing with the repercussions of offseason knee and spinal surgeries when he recorded his career-low statistics with the Brewers in 2023. He remarked that he felt “obligated to play, and I didn’t perform” during the previous year. His inclusion in the postseason roster raised some eyebrows, and he was retired twice in the 2-0 series defeat against the Diamondbacks, which elicited boos from the home crowd in Milwaukee.
There was undoubtedly a sense of satisfaction when he hit a two-run triple and subsequently scored, giving the Mets a 3-2 advantage in Game 1 of the series. As he rounded the bases, he exchanged words with Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, leading to a playful confrontation in which Adames suggested that Winker should resolve their differences in the parking lot, seemingly in earnest.
Winker later informed the Post that he had not engaged in conversation with Adames and had no plans to do so. In Game 3, after scoring an insurance run in the ninth inning to extend the lead to 4-2, he forcefully slammed his helmet to the ground, just moments after Pete Alonso’s impactful three-run homer had given the Mets the lead. This action elicited another wave of boos from the crowd.
Winker was plunked by a Frankie Montas pitch in the final series of the regular season, something Winker believed was on purpose.
“It’s part of sports, these fans, they can react to you however they want,” Winker said to the Post. “They pay the tickets. They’re the veins and the lifeblood of our sport … but I’ll hate the city of Milwaukee forever.”
