Tom Brennan - Short Mets People

The SHORT Jett Williams 

Most baseball players these days are big dudes - think Tylor Megill, David Peterson, Pete Alonso, etc.

But the Mets minors have some short people. Good ones.

Randy Newman once wrote a popular song, though, called Short People - never liked it.  

But I do REALLY like some short Mets. Each JUST five and a half feet tall.

Here are three of them. 

Matt Rudick - I noted in a January article that the speedy 5'6" outfielder had a mighty hot final 28 games for Brooklyn last year:

Starting August 10, he started spraying a whole lot of hits and drawing a whole lot of walks, helping catalyze the Cyclones pennant surge as their lead off hitter.    

Matt got on base 42 times in his last 19 August games, and 14 more times in his 9 September contests.  Twice a game on average over his final 28 games…what’s not to LOVE there?

Well, first 3 games for Binghamton this year, the short Rudick rocked: 4 for 11, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, including a grand slam.

The lefty hitting 13th rounder in 2021 seems to be picking up in 2023 right where he left 2022 - HOT! 

BTW, his next career error will be his first.

WYATT YOUNG (AA): in last years 2nd half, in 45 G, he smoked it at .292/.425/.441.  On base constantly, and hey, for a diminutive 5'6" dude, a .441 slug %?  What?? 

This year, after a hitless first game, doing what he normally does: on base 4 times in his next 2 games.

JETT WILLIAMS: first round drafted teenager, now in A ball, the 5'6" Jett started just 1 for 10 this year through Saturday, but has 2 HRs, 7 RBIs, and 6 steals in just 42 regular season career at bats.  He most likely will turn out to be the best of the 5'6" hitters.  We'll see how quickly that occurs.

Interestingly, the last 2 letters in each of their first names? TT.

Totally Tough.

P.S. 

Short ex-Met Marcus Stroman (also 5'6") was hurt early in his first ex-Mets season in 2022.  But since healing, from July 2022 to present, he has allowed just 30 total runs in 103 innings.  That's not an ERA, that's an RA - Average Runs (earned and unearned) allowed totaling 2.60.

Short People can succeed in baseball - they just have to work twice as hard to prove it.

A giant by comparison, former 3rd rounder 5'7" Carlos Cortes is looking to shrug off a bad 2022, and is 10 for 30 with 5 RBIs for Syracuse on the young 2023 season.  Maybe he will be back on the reserve outfielder radar screen - we do need an ambidextrous guy at Citifield.

Taller players (Baty, Mauricio, Vientos) are taller - and ready.

R.I.P.: Hobie Landrith, 93, the first player in Mets history whom the team selected with its first pick in the 1961 expansion draft, died last Thursday. Remarkably, he was taller than 5’6”.