Brandon Nimmo was a first-round draft pick in 2011 but didn’t make his debut until 2016.
He didn’t do much in his first few days in the big leagues, but he began to show he could thrive as a part-time player in 2017.
The left-handed pitcher had been protected from left-handed pitchers until 2018, but he has now proven he can hit against pitchers from the same side.
Going into 2022, he was a below-average defender in center field, but that year he pinpointed room for growth and showed he could be a legitimate option outside of corner.
The focus shifted to power last season, as Nimmo fine-tuned his swing and hit a career-high 24 home runs.
His entire career has been one of improvement, so his 100th home run gave him a chance to reflect on how much he’s grown.
Nimmo hit a two-run homer off Bryan Abreu in the seventh inning to tie a game the Mets were losing 10-5 in the 11th inning, but Nimmo said the game was “bittersweet.”
The content of the game is the most important thing, but the numbers are also important.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a player,” Nimmo said after becoming the 16th player in franchise history to reach the milestone. “This is just another milestone that shows how much I’ve grown, because when I first got promoted, [I] I wasn’t considered a home run hitter, I was just considered a slap hitter, and honestly, when I got to the majors, a lot of people thought of me as a fourth or fifth outfielder.”
Nimmo, now a corner/centerfielder making $162 million a year, has proven those critics wrong.
The 2024 season was a lot like his career, a season of struggle before the breakout season.
Nimmo was off to perhaps the worst statistical start of his career through May 30, batting just .209 with a .721 OPS.
In the 23 games since then, he has 30 hits in 92 at-bats (.326), with six home runs, five doubles and one triple.
In July, Nimmo recorded an OPS of .815, leading the team to a great leap forward and once again earning himself a place in the All-Star Game.
That afternoon, Nimmo hit his first hit for the Mets, and one of his biggest.
Nimmo, who was hitless through the first five innings, singled to center field and scored on Mark Vientos’ double.
One inning later, Nimmo took to the mound in the seventh inning with the Mets trailing by two runs.
With Luis Torrens on first base, Nimmo caught a hard 0-2 fastball and smashed it wide of home plate into left-center field for a 412-foot game-tying home run, becoming the 100th hitter in 836 games played over nine years.
Nimmo tied the game again in the 10th inning with an RBI double to right field, but the lineup behind him and the undermanned Mets relief corps allowed the game to slip away.
There’s no victory, but it’s a moment to be savored anyway.
“To hit 100 home runs in the major leagues and be in a position to accomplish it like I did. [in tying the game]”It’s very special,” Nimmo said.
