For much of the season, the New York Mets‘ offense was kept afloat thanks to the efforts of Michael Conforto, Robinson Cano, Dominic Smith, Brandon Nimmo, and even Andres Gimenez, among others. However, we know it can be even better if two specific performers start living up to the expectations around them.
Pete Alonso, the major league home run leader in 2019 and National League Rookie of the Year, and Jeff McNeil, the man capable of mashing over .300 points of average and a 20-homer pace, are starting to come around at the plate, just in time as the New York Mets try to make a late playoff push.
Alonso’s average is still relatively low at .234 (he hit .260 in his first year) but is now up to 11 homers for the season. From September 2 to this date, the Polar Bear has a .345/.406/.897 line with a 236 wRC+, a 6.3 BB%, a 15.6 K%, one double, five homers, seven RBI and eight runs scored.
The Polar Bear is back for the Mets
Pete’s resurgence offers hope to a Mets’ team that badly needs reasons to believe they can be in the playoff hunt at this point. They are in fourth place in the NL East division with a 20-24 record, 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves and only a handful behind the last wild card spot.
Meanwhile, McNeil was homerless for the season as of September 5. However, he has left the year in four consecutive games including last night, and now has a stellar, more Squirrel-like .315/.388/.496 line with a .376 wOBA and a 139 wRC+.
The Mets’ versatile hitting machine has been especially hot since August 28, with a .385/.458/.750 line, a 218 wRC+, a 10.2 BB% and a 10.2 K%, adding the four home runs.
In these two men, the New York Mets have to standout offensive performers that add two more weapons and lengthen an already dangerous lineup. Let’s see if they have enough time to string some victories, reach .500 ball, and go from there.