LOS ANGELES — When Brett Baty hit a bases-clearing triple Saturday night time towards the Colorado Rockies, it caught him without warning. It wasn’t due to how arduous he hit the ball, however as a result of he has by no means precisely been a hitter who hits a whole lot of three-baggers, and by some means he already has two this season within the huge leagues.
“I don’t even know that I had any in the minors,” Baty stated.
Because it seems, he did — three of them over six seasons, which was one other shock for Baty.
However the larger shock is perhaps the Mets‘ sudden ability to hit them up and down the lineup. Somehow, the Mets have already hit 13 this season, two shy of their entire 2024 total. It’s the third-most within the league, behind the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago Cubs. Whereas it is perhaps anticipated for the Rockies, who play in such an excessive hitters’ park that Max Scherzer as soon as stated it’s like “playing baseball on the moon,” the Mets’ lineup is clearly doing one thing proper.
A lot of hitting might be random, particularly after the ball leaves the bat. Outcomes can fluctuate based mostly on all the pieces from how the defenders are positioned to the very air within the ballpark. However the Mets’ sudden penchant for hitting triples is a results of a number of elements.
“I think it’s a combination of the guys that are hitting, and taking advantage of these ballparks too,” supervisor Carlos Mendoza stated over the weekend. “We know that when that ball gets in the gap and down the right field line from lefties, we’ve got guys that can run the bases as well. So I think it’s a combination of both putting good swings on balls and then taking advantage of athleticism and taking an extra base.”
The Mets have some glorious baserunners who hit left-handed like Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil, and a few right-handed hitters who run the bases exceptionally effectively. Tyrone Taylor and Starling Marte won’t ever hesitate to check the arms of proper fielders. Hitting triples does require some threat on the a part of the hitter, however with the best way the Mets have put a heavy emphasis on baserunning fundamentals over the past two years, it’s a threat they’re sometimes prepared to take.
Even Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos have tripled this season, and neither of them could possibly be described as fleet of foot.
Somebody like Nimmo, who has hit 32 in his profession and led the large leagues with seven in 2022, can learn the ball off the wall. For somebody like Vientos, he’s going to be in search of cues from third base coach Mike Sarbaugh.
“The two I’ve had this year is just reading the ball,” Baty stated. “The one in Sacramento, it’s just deep out there in the gaps. Then the one [Saturday] just kicked off the wall. I was on the heater, and I was looking for something out over, and I was just trying to hit the ball hard.”
Baserunning coordinator Antoan Richardson has been close to universally praised by the Mets, with even Marte, whose calling card has all the time been velocity on the basepaths, crediting him for enhancements. Credit score him for assist with the triples as effectively.
The Mets open a four-game collection at Dodger Stadium on Monday night time. It’s a giant outfield, and summer season within the Southland means the ball flies. Their struggles with runners in scoring place are well-documented, and whereas the workforce thinks they’re beginning to transfer previous a few of these struggles, a one-out triple means they solely want a sac fly to attain a run.
Search for the Mets to take some further bases every time attainable this week to attempt to acquire a bonus on the defending World Sequence champs.
