Spotrac is a great site for selected analytical info.
I recently did articles on Mets' offensive and pitching low lights in 2021, referring to some of their data while doing so.
Which led to a painful subject today...2021's low lights kept coming back to injuries, and everyone's current hope that injuries will subside for the Mets in 2022.
Simply, if they don't get more durable players - they're outa there. Golf, not playoffs, in October.
We all hope not, but 2022 (hurtfully) can go the way of 2021.
The Mets, per Spotrac:
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/disabled-list/2021/cumulative-team/
...lost 2,345 days to player injuries in 2021, exceeded only by Tampa (2,502) and San Diego (2,581).
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Oakland and Boston came in at just 929 and 907 games lost, respectively. (Funny that Oakland in 2021 was a highly durable Jed Lowry team, huh? The only thing durable about Lowry in his 2 Mets seasons was the durability of his prolonged absences).
WHAT A HUGE "GAMES LOST" DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE METS AND THOSE SQUADS!
Simple math: the Mets were 2.5 times as high as the A's and Sox teams in days lost due to injury.
Was it a one year Mets aberration? Sadly, painfully, no.
In the last prior full season, 2019, the Mets were 8th highest in days lost.
In 2018, 2nd highest.
In 2017, 7th highest.
Wow! Take a licking and DON'T keep on ticking.
The above means either of 2 things, or a combination of both.
1) The Mets have compiled a cohort of abnormally fragile players, and should figure out why.
2) The data is under-reported by other teams (doubtful).
Regardless, that total of 2,345 days lost by the Mets in 2021? That works out to the equivalent of losing 14-15 players for all 162 games!
Simply a crazy number.
Injuries ARE part of the game.
But if I am the Mets' management, I am diligently analyzing highly injured vs. far less highly injured teams, for patterns that could help the Mets have healthier players.
For instance, the Mets' hitters lead, or are close to the lead, each year in getting hit by pitches. More plunks = more games missed. Perhaps a strategy would be to sit the boys down and tell them that HBP is not a smart way to increase their OBP. Because it increases IL visits.
One thing is almost certain:
The Mets being so high on the total days lost due to injury list from 2017-21 has to be a key, if not THE key, reason that they've missed the playoffs 5 years straight.
Thinking about that? It really hurts.
Let's hope our players can spend much more time on the field.
Patron Saint of Extended and Repeated Mets Injuries - Saint Cespedes.
And less much in-season time on horses.
They might corral more wins.
And have fewer Mets' seasons go riding off into the sunset.
7 comments:
Spotrac does know how to separate the healthy from the not.
Something is wrong here with either (or both) the pre and in game training program.
Oops.
I just hurt myself typing this.
Does this add to the numbers?
WE ALL KNOW YOUR REAL NAME IS MACK RIPKIN. You can't get hurt.
That's probably a reason they dumped Noah. Gotta do SOMETHING to scale back the injury-prone. That may also be the new philosophy that caused them to about-face on Kumar Rocker.
I just did a future article involving Willie Mays. In one 13 season stretch, he missed 40 games total.
How many Mets missed over 40 games just in 2021?
Don't tell anyone but the Rocker mess wa all ex-GM error
Tom nothing worse than guaranteed contracts. Now I'm not saying players aren't injured but there's nothing better than players playing for their next contract like they almost all seem to do in their FA year.
Agreed, Tom…….the injury issue is a trend that needs to be corrected. Hopefully Steve Cohen has noticed and this is being modified for 2022 and beyond.
Gary, I am sure that has a lot to do with it. I have thrown out the idea of a max 3 year contract. They will never get back to one year. But...would you rather have paid Lindor 3 years, $135 million or 10 years $341 million. Me? 3 years, $135 million, and see if he is worth another 3 year deal after that.
Baseball is SO different now - I looked at 1951 Brooklyn Dodger attendance stats. Great team...great players...no TV to stay home and watch...and they drew less than 1.3 million fans. Undoubtedly many cheap tickets. Crazy. They'd draw 3.5 million with a team like that now. And no cheap tickets.
SO the $$ keeps flowing in ridiculous deals, because owners have to share the profits.
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