Addressing Jake McCarthy's Postgame Comments

Jake McCarthy had some interesting words to say back on July 1st. Following an 8-2 blowout win over the San Francisco Giants, the Diamondbacks outfielder gave what will ultimately be one of the biggest soundbites for the 2025 season in a postgame interview.

On the TV broadcast, reporter Todd Walsh asked McCarthy to address the belief in the locker room when it came to addressing naysayers. Here’s the full quote.

“Let people doubt, the team welcomes it. The people who want to count us out, who think we’re done, they don’t know shit. They don’t know shit, I’ll just leave it at that.”

In my personal opinion, it’s a great quote. It’s a rare candid moment for a player, where he delivered the line with enthusiasm. It makes a great TV moment, and he’s 100% right with that sentiment.

We as fans, media members, or tired out baseball writers who feel like they have to opine on everything don’t see the work that goes on behind the scenes. McCarthy got off to a terrible slump to begin the year, but had a big night. He hit a three-run home run that pushed all the momentum in the game to the Diamondbacks, and they didn’t relent.

Making comments like that is a double-edged sword for both McCarthy and the team. It can be a galvanizing moment for a club after two big wins. However, it can also make you look foolish, and put a target on your back, when the team fails to respond. The team has only won one of the next five games.

The Diamondbacks sit at 44-46 on July 7, four games out of a playoff spot. In the last two weeks, they’ve been unable to close the gap. They’ve lost eight of their last 11 games, and could be dealing players on expiring deals later this month.

That’s the unfortunate part of the mix. The 2025 Diamondbacks have three All-Stars in their lineup (Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll, and Eugenio Suárez) and have one of the best offenses in MLB.

In a critical 20-game stretch that could have potentially swayed their direction at the deadline, they’re 3-4. It’s unlikely they’ll go 10-3 between now and the end of the Astros series at Chase Field. The team has struggled to put together good pitching and good pitching for the better part of three months, playing a frustratingly mediocre brand of baseball. The last seven games have been a continuation of that.

When the team heads into the All-Star break, all of the players on the major league roster have one thing to ask. Do they turn the “They don’t shit” moment into a rallying cry that turns around their season, or do they remain a potentially fractured group that consistently underplays their talent level. That, to me, is what will define the 2025 Diamondbacks.

Post Script Note: If you are reading this after reading the farewell address and wondering why the fuck I’m writing about a baseball topic, this was a topic that’s been weighing on my mind for several days. I started writing this one before that one. I just wanted to opine on a potential defining moment of the season before I left. Perhaps I’ll just throw together some written and video content with the expectation that no one cares to read or watch. I’ve already spent seven years putting my heart out and grinding to be the most productive version of myself while getting no reward for it. If you’re wondering why seven years instead of three or ten, here’s a catalog of my speedrunning history on Twitch. I’ll resume to being a bitter, angry hermit soon enough.