Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Contrary to the 2021 season, the Mets offense has been on fire when their teammates reach base. Through the fifth inning of last night’s game, the Mets ranked top-three in the league in batting average when there are two outs and a runner in scoring position.
Last year, the Mets ranked 28th in that same stat.
New York is enjoying a flurry of offensive success during their first 12 games of the season. They’re tied for second in runs scored and are tied for seventh with 4.92 runs per game.
As a team, the Mets are batting .251/.350/.398. They have the highest on-base percentage in the league. Leading the charge in on-base percentage are offseason additions Mark Canha (.500) and Eduardo Escobar (.438) with a resurgent Francisco Lindor (.442) penciled in between. Lindor and Escobar rank 15th and 16th in the league, respectively. If he qualified, Canha would be tied for sixth on the on-base percentage leaderboard.
The Mets cleaned house of their coaching staff from the last few seasons, sans pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Maybe it’s a new approach from hitting coach Eric Chavez that’s changed the way the team hits with men on base. There’s also the designated hitter
One change that’s been noticeable is the aggressiveness of third base coach Joey Cora when sending runners. When Gary DiSarcina was at third base, he’d consistently hold runners at the corner and force the Mets to make another hit to get a run instead of forcing the defense to make a play.
Cora has repeatedly sent runners home to great success. The Mets have hit a single when a runner is on second 13 times. They have scored on 11 of those chances, with one out at home and one runner stopping at third base.
Mets baserunners have also scored from first base on a double 50% of the time. When a single has been hit and a runner is on first, Mets baserunners have taken an extra base in eight of 20 chances. As a team, the Mets take an extra base 56% of the time, although the stat doesn’t take in account the location or type of ball in play.
Between situational hitting and prowess on the basepaths, the Mets are turning themselves into an offensive juggernaut. Right now they’re on pace to win over 100 games, let’s see if they can keep it up.
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