JUPITER, Fla. — A day after doing both, Francisco Alvarez beams when asked which one he prefers.
The Mets catcher said he enjoys throwing to opponents more than hitting home runs.
This season, Alvarez aims to have more fun than he did a year ago.
In a breakout rookie season, Alvarez made an impression almost everywhere. His bat may not have been consistent, but it provided power that was rare for his position, especially for his age. He quickly emerged as one of the best pitch framers in baseball, adept at blocking pitches and working with pitchers, earning praise from nearly everyone he caught.
But if there was one area where Alvarez struggled, it was when opposing runners departed for the next base. Last season, Alvarez completed just 13 percent of his stolen base attempts, compared to the major league average of 19 percent. In a season when the number of base runners increased due to rule changes, his weaknesses were noticeable, and in 2023 he recorded the highest number of stolen bases in a season in all of baseball since 1987.
Alvarez’s arm (he averaged 84.8 mph when throwing balls to the bases) was average among catchers, and he had no glaring weaknesses. He and the Mets believed his average pop time (which measures the time it takes for a catcher to throw to second base) was 1.94 seconds, with further improvements needed to be made in how quickly he released the ball and how he shuffled his feet. It was thought that there was room. He can improve.
“Throwing is something we talked about to get him more consistent with his footwork and stance,” catching coach Glenn Sherlock said before the Mets beat the Marlins 3-1 Friday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. ” he said. “That’s exactly what we’re focused on.”
The biggest difference this season is Alvarez’s footwork. Last year, he crouched down on one knee to help catchers set up pitches, then stood up from that position and threw the ball to the bases.
Alvarez must be busy this season when runners try to steal bases. He now maintains a kneeling position until he sees the runner take off, at which point he immediately shifts to raising his knee and jumping onto the balls of his feet. This is a more traditional catcher’s squat that allows you to hit the ball. Throw faster.
“He’s a very good framing catcher, so he doesn’t want to give that up and wants to keep it that way,” Sherlock said of the kneeling position. “That’s one of his big strengths. So we modified his stance a little bit when the runner leaves.
“I would say this [Alvarez’s footwork is] It’s more stable than last year. …We want all of this to be the same. ”
Perhaps the Nationals remembered their rampage against Alvarez, who had just 15 stolen base attempts out of 114 last season. On Thursday, Washington’s Lane Thomas, Ildemaro Vargas and Carter Kieboom attempted to steal second base. Francisco Lindor (twice) and Joey Wendle (one) were all shot on snap throws that didn’t require much movement of the glove.
“I want to improve in everything, but my biggest focus is my throwing,” Alvarez said. His swing also looked fine. He hit his second consecutive home run on Friday, hitting a double over the third base line.
As it turns out, the job of slowing down opponents’ running games won’t fall solely on Alvarez. Mets pitchers, especially Adam Ottavino, who was statistically the worst at holding runners down last year, are focused on giving catchers a chance. Ottavino has been tweaking his pickoff movement to increase speed to first base and was on the mound Thursday for two successful throwdowns by Alvarez.
He gave Alvarez the opportunity to do what gives him the most joy on the baseball field.
“I’m really happy with where I’m at right now,” Alvarez said of his throwing game.
