Mets Notes: Francisco Lindor’s influence on the squad, Brett Baty in the lineup versus lefties Left on left
Brett Baty’s stats versus lefties were not excellent before this season began. They could even be characterised as awful.
The left-handed hitting third baseman only managed 17 hits (.170 average) in 100 at-bats against southpaws in 2022 and 2023. But in 14 at-bats (.286 average) against left-handers this season, Baty, who has been far more assured for the Mets in the field and at the plate, has already collected four hits, including his lone home run of the year.
Manager Carlos Mendoza feels confident enough to start his third baseman against a difficult, seasoned left-hander like Martin Perez on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates because of the striking improvement, even in a tiny sample size.
“He demonstrated his ability to strike out lefties,” Mendoza stated prior to the match. “I like how he’s staying in there, taking hard pitches, and laying off some at-bats with the ball left on left.” He’s going to have to face lefties if he wants to play every day in the major leagues, and I’m okay with that.
“Yeah, there’s gonna be times where I’m gonna pick my spots and give him a day or maybe bring a righty in there if we need to, but as we speak right now I like where he’s at offensively against righties and lefties so that’s why he’s in there today.”
Baty is stabbing all around.315/.362/.389 so far this season, trailing just Pete Alonso in hitting order.
Mr. Grinning
Francisco Lindor hasn’t had the offensive start to the season he had hoped for. He is, after all, batting.fifteen games into the year, 129 (8-for-62).
Despite having had a poor start to the season, Lindor hasn’t allowed it to dampen his enthusiasm or demeanour on the pitch or with his teammates in the bench. He can be seen enthusiastically applauding and participating in every pitch.
Baty, his teammate on the right side of the infield, is among the players on whom Lindor has had the most influence.
Mendoza remarked of Lindor and Baty’s friendship, “It’s impactful and this started back in January when Baty visited [Lindor] and they started working together.” “And then you observed that during spring training in terms of their speech patterns, interactions, and content, which included both offensive and defensive themes. But in the end, it was all about enjoying the game and having confidence in oneself.”
Mendoza went on, “Look, Lindor is still the same guy even though he’s going through a difficult moment right now. It speaks a lot about who Lindor is and the impact he has on the club as a whole that he continues to back Baty and bring energy to every pitch. You can see this in the celebrations that occur when we score runs, get a huge hit, or someone comes out of a big inning.”
Day in Honour of Jackie Robinson
The Major League Baseball (MLB) honours the 77th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s historic moment on Monday, April 15, 1947, when he became the first Black player to play for a league team.
It has great significance. Mendoza stated, “You search for this date on the baseball calendar.” You might argue, in my opinion, that he was among the most significant individuals in history—not just for our nation, but for the entire globe.
“I don’t know if I would be sitting here right now without him, not only for what he accomplished in athletics but also for African Americans and people like me who are Latino. For that reason, today is unique for me and the rest of us. What a privilege and an honour it is for us to celebrate this day.”
