First-year manager Carlos Mendoza firmly believes “something special is happening” with the Mets, and Pete Alonso noted Sunday that there’s a “good vibe” among the team and the crowd at Citi Field.
After a slow start, the on-the-ball Mets went into the All-Star break with a 49-46 record and third place in the National League wild card standings, one game behind both the Diamondbacks and the Padres.
Brandon Nimmo, the Mets’ longest-tenured player, has said multiple times in recent days that he expects a resurgent team to show enough goodness for the front office to “become a buyer” by the July 30 deadline.
If they continue to win when play resumes on Friday in Miami, team president David Stearns will no doubt be able to add some more useful players (starting pitcher Kodai Senga also missed the entire first half of the season with shoulder and triceps injuries but is due to return soon).
“That’s great! We still have two weeks left. [before the deadline] “We’ve got to make it easy on them and continue to play good baseball until the end of the month,” Alonso said Sunday before leaving for the All-Star Game in Texas. “That would be great, but again, we’ve got to earn it, continue to play well and make their job easy.”
Of course, it hasn’t always been easy for the Mets in the first half of the season, and as of June 2nd they were 24-35 and in an uncertain state.
But several key moments and developments contributed to the season’s turnaround, and here are five of the most notable.
Meet the Mets
Mendoza and the players had been discussing for weeks the importance of the team meeting at Citi Field on May 29, the day after Jorge Lopez, who was immediately released following a three-game losing streak to the Dodgers, hurled his glove into the stands.
“It just felt like the time was right. We all needed to sit down and look each other in the eye and talk,” shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It doesn’t matter if you play one day in the major leagues or you play for 14 years. We’re all teammates and what matters is winning.”
“I feel like we just needed to look each other in the eye and say we needed to get it done.”
Let’s talk about hitting.
Interestingly, a hitters-only meeting held just a week ago revealed the immediate impact of the acquisition of veteran J.D. Martinez.
The six-time All-Star, who signed late in spring training and didn’t join the Mets until late April, spoke to his teammates about the importance of taking responsibility with every at-bat.
Martinez strengthened the middle of the lineup by using the designated hitter position as an everyday player, a position that was a black hole for the Mets last year.
The 36-year-old Martinez is batting just .189 in 37 at-bats in July, but he has 10 homers, 38 RBIs and an .806 OPS in 66 games.
Let’s look at it from above
The decision to put Lindor in the leadoff hitter position in mid-June with Nimmo batting behind him was a boon to the lineup.
The Mets lead the majors in runs run, home runs, batting average and OPS over the past 30 days, with Lindor and Nimmo leading the way.
Lindor is batting .299 with a .906 OPS as a leadoff hitter this season, but earlier this season he was batting just .172 as the second and third batters.
Nimmo has played in 28 games as the second batter, batting .312 with a .405 on-base percentage and a .624 slugging percentage (OPS 1.029), with 9 home runs and 31 RBIs.
“They’ve been unconscious at the plate,” Alonso said. “I think the last three or four weeks they’ve just been great.”
“With the current lineup, anyone from No. 1 to No. 9 can do damage to their opponents, but Paco and Nims at the top have really stepped up and done an incredible job.”
I don’t know the third one
The Abbott and Costello story no longer applies to the Mets, who opened the season with Triple-A Syracuse and have Mark Vientos take over the third base position from Brett Beatty, who was demoted.
The 24-year-old Vientos further strengthened the lineup, hitting 12 home runs and slashing .291/.347/.549 (.896 OPS) in 51 games.
Oh, what a wonderful discovery!
Jose Iglesias didn’t even find a major league job last season, but the 14-year veteran infielder and budding musician has been a big stepping stone for the Mets on and off the field.
His memorable song “OMG” has also become a staple at Citi Field, and Iglesias is scheduled to perform the song before Monday’s Home Run Derby.
Iglesias was also great on the field, playing strong defense at second and third base and posting a team-best OPS of .999 in 84 at-bats.
“I don’t think it gets any better than this. [more] “What more could you want?” Iglesias said Sunday. “Our team is playing really well and we’re all healthy going into the break. It’s a dream come true.”
