Two Mets sluggers of yore, Darryl Strawberry (Straw Man) and Lucas Duda (Big Lebowski) followed the norm in hitting, that you hit better against a lefty if you hit righty, or a righty, if you hit lefty.
Lefty-hitting Darryl vs. righties was pretty lethal: .270/.376/.539
Lefty-hitting Darryl vs. lefties was much less lethal: .239/.319/.444
Likewise,
Lefty-hitting Lucas vs. righties was tough: .249/.351/.481
Lefty-hitting Lucas vs. lefties was not good at all: .211/.282/.351
The whole idea of lefties being tougher against lefty hitters and righties being tougher against righty hitters is a given in almost every team's approach to building an effective bullpen.
But for some reason, a lot of righty-hitting Mets seemed to struggle in 2021 more against lefties than righties, and a number of lefty-hitting Mets seemed to struggle in 2021 more against righties than lefties.
Here's a breakdown - some showed a distinct opposite of normal expectations, others were almost indistinguishable between production vs. lefties and righties:
Pete Alonso - righty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 169 ABs, .237/.342/.562, 32 RBIs
Vs. righties: 392 ABs, .273/.345/.500, 62 RBIs
Brandon Nimmo - lefty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 98 ABs, .306/.429/.398, 7 RBIs
Vs. righties: 227 ABs, .286/.389/.454, 21 RBIs
Dominic Smith - lefty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 125 ABs, .312/.367/.416, 20 RBIs
Vs. righties: 321 ABs, .218/.280/.343, 38 RBIs
Jeff McNeil - lefty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 99 ABs, .253/.327/.303, 8 RBIs
Vs. righties: 204 ABs, .251/.317/.380, 27 RBIs
Kevin Pillar- righty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 121 ABs, .240/.256/.422, 11 RBIs
Vs. righties: 321 ABs, .226/.288/.412, 36 RBIs
Even in the minors it was happening:
Mark Vientos - righty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 91 ABs, .209/.250/.418, 12 RBIs
Vs. righties: 219 ABs, .311/.391/.648, 51 RBIs
Khalil Lee - lefty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 75 ABs, .316/.490/.553, 9 RBIs. .490? WOW!
Vs. righties: 216 ABs, .259/.437/.418, 28 RBIs
Hayden Senger - righty hitter:
Vs. lefties: 59 ABs, .203/.266/.288, zero RBIs
Vs. righties: 165 ABs, .285/.367/.479, 14 RBIs
On the Mets, James McCann and Michael Conforto hit clearly better against opposite-side pitchers, so it did not affect every Met.
On the minors front, I was heartened to see that righty hitting Francisco Alvarez dismantled lefties, to the tune of .333/.433/.747, in 90 plate appearances. he has the benefit of facing mostly righty pitchers, so he will have plenty of practice in getting his slugging % up to .747 against righties, too. Also, Brett Baty has very expected lefty / righty splits, a refreshing thing. He hits lefties reasonably well, and righties better, as one would hope and expect.
Not a lot of minor leaguers - in part, because not a lot of Mets minor leaguers hit well, so the list of key prospect Mets hitters is short. And, of course, Ronny Mauricio and Jake Mangum are switch hitters.
Tim Tebow's stats in 2021 were identical against lefties and righties, which I find remarkable.
That's all for me now. Time for me to split.
4 comments:
No comments yet, from either lefties or righties? I guess I struck out on this one, batting from the left side, then.
Meanwhile, owners threaten opening day if no deal today, and Mets hire a woman, Elizabeth Benn, to be their director of Major League operations.
I guess that is the way of the world these days....perhaps she is the best hire for the job...but this is an all-men's sport, in terms of players. I wonder how the players feel about a woman getting such an important job, and not a former MLB player.
Cancel Opening Day? Again? That's one part of Cancel Culture I can do without.
There's a definite trend for teams to become more diverse. The Mets have simply joined the bandwagon.
Ray, let's hope for the Mets that diversity in such a key role turns out to be optimal.
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