The sample size is too small to blame the Mets for their struggle with runners in scoring positions.
When they got into play on Saturday, they were hitting .178 (second worst in baseball).
Just three weeks after the season, a few hits a few days later, could bring the Mets at least in the middle of the pack, but the focus was on raising the leaderboard.
What’s more useful than baseline counts (entering 174 plays) in evaluating such small at-bats is the quality of their batting.
What Eric Chavez saw suggests his team is trying to go too far in key moments.
“Our swing rate is rising and the tracking rate is scored by runners,” the Mets co-striking coach said before beating the Cardinals 3-0 at Citifield. “That’s what we’re trying to deal with, and we’re trying to get into the flow with the attack.”
He’s right.
They swing at 45.4% of the pitch and chased the pitch from the strike zone at 27.6% when the Mets stepped into the plate with their base empty.
These numbers can be compared to a swing rate of 49.9% and a chase rate of 31.3% if you have runners in the second and/or third, and perhaps explain the Mets’ early clutch struggle.
“When no one’s around, everyone is a little more relaxed,” Chavez said. “For me, it’s not just leaving it the same, it’s an emotional response. Just be a good hitter, understand what the pitcher wants to do and understand what they want to do.”
It’s difficult to treat all at-bats the same, thirdly it’s easy to see the runner and play the ball too much.
Chavez believes his team is beginning to make progress and picked out Francisco Lindor.
In Minnesota on Tuesday, Lindor rose to the plate in nine innings, representing two potential cohesive runs on base.
He followed a first pitch knuckle curve from Joan Duran, far below the zone.
After laying off three balls, he had a nick at the bottom of the zone and rocked a splitter that could have rocked 101.8 mph of heat in the middle of the plate.
“He was very ‘I-got-it’ uneasy,” Chavez said.
The two talked about at-bats and calm.
A day later, Lindor faced Duran again in the ninth in a quality at-bat against Griffin Jax in eight innings, finishing with a single before pulling out a five-pitch walk.
“I found something that calmed me down,” Linder told him.
As a group, the Mets work to hit the same heartbeat in the same small moments.
Within the group there is a great possibility within the group that began to invade, including encouraging work from Lindor and Mark Bientos, who along with Pete Alonso and Juansoto, who can make the attack special.
Chavez is sure the group will gather, which will help the weather get better.
“We’re not even close to where we need it,” Chavez said.
