Earlier this week, I wrote a humor piece on the real reason why the Yankees want Scott Hairston. Today, I felt like shifting gears. The Yankees may secretly want Scott Hairston because they still long for Joe Torre, or someone who looks like him, but the Mets should make no secret about why they should re-sign Scott Hairston. All they have to do is read their team history books for the reason why.
This site has reported in the past that Scott Hairston set a team record by finishing the season with at least 20 homers and 20 doubles in only 377 at-bats. Only Mike Piazza had reached the 20/20 mark in both figures in fewer than 400 at-bats prior to Hairston. (Piazza accomplished the feat in 1998 when he compiled 394 at-bats after his trade to the Mets.)
Hairston's record came on the heels of a 2011 season in which he collected 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs) in 132 at-bats. With 48 extra-base hits in 2012 (25 doubles, three triples, 20 homers), Hairston now has accumulated 64 extra-base hits in only 509 at-bats as a Met, meaning he's collected an extra-base hit in 12.57% of his at-bats.
That got me thinking. How many other Mets players over the years have gotten an extra-base hit in at least 10% of their at-bats? Not many. And who has the highest percentage? I think you can figure that out by the title of this post.
Player
|
Extra-Base Hits
|
At-Bats
|
Percentage
|
Scott Hairston
|
64
|
509
|
12.57%
|
Mike Cameron
|
98
|
801
|
12.23%
|
Darryl Strawberry
|
469
|
3903
|
12.02%
|
Carlos Beltran
|
374
|
3133
|
11.94%
|
Mike Piazza
|
415
|
3478
|
11.93%
|
Carlos Delgado
|
207
|
1754
|
11.80%
|
David Wright
|
545
|
4742
|
11.49%
|
Bobby Bonilla
|
201
|
1779
|
11.30%
|
Rico Brogna
|
89
|
814
|
10.93%
|
Jose Valentin
|
60
|
550
|
10.91%
|
Ike Davis
|
127
|
1171
|
10.85%
|
Cliff Floyd
|
178
|
1643
|
10.83%
|
Bernard Gilkey
|
146
|
1353
|
10.79%
|
Howard Johnson
|
424
|
3968
|
10.69%
|
John Olerud
|
177
|
1662
|
10.65%
|
Ramon Castro
|
74
|
701
|
10.56%
|
Robin Ventura
|
159
|
1513
|
10.51%
|
Ty Wigginton
|
104
|
1001
|
10.39%
|
Only 18 players in team history (min. 500 at-bats) have collected an extra-base hit in at least 10% of their at-bats. Some of the team's all-time greats are there (Darryl Strawberry, Carlos Beltran, Mike Piazza, Howard Johnson), as is one of the team's least popular players (Bobby Bonilla). In addition, there are fan-favorites who had short careers in New York (Rico Brogna, John Olerud, Ty Wigginton), as well as current players (David Wright, Ike Davis).
All of those players were exceptional when it came to getting extra-base hits in a Mets uniform. And all of those players have a lower percentage than the team's all-time leader in extra-base hit percentage, Scott Hairston.
When some of the team's greatest hitters such as Jose Reyes (402 XBH in 4,453 AB), Edgardo Alfonzo (346 XBH in 3,897 AB), Cleon Jones (308 XBH in 4,223 AB) and Keith Hernandez (249 XBH in 3,164 AB) fail to make this type of list, you can imagine how exclusive it is.
And yet despite this, the Mets are reluctant to offer Hairston anything more than a one-year deal, even though Kevin Burkhardt believes that all it would take to bring Hairston back is a two-year, $9 million deal. That's not a lot of money or commitment to a 32-year-old who's clearly one of the team's best right-handed power threats, along with the recently signed David Wright (who, in case the team has already forgotten, required $129 million more than Hairston would to stay in New York).
Sandy Alderson recently said at the Winter Meetings that the team is in need of more power at the plate. He doesn't have to look very far to find it. His power source has been wearing No. 12 for the Mets each of the past two seasons, stroking extra-base hits at a rate that no Met has ever reached before him.
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