Yoenis Céspedes vs. Other Mets in Their First 162 Games

Yoenis Cespedes's 162-game start gets a big thumbs up!  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus)

Yoenis Céspedes has meant everything to the Mets since he was acquired at the trade deadline last July.  But because of nagging injuries and a trip to the disabled list earlier this season, Céspedes didn't get to play in his 162nd career game with the team until Wednesday, as he has missed 28 games during the 2016 campaign after resting for only two games with the Mets in 2015, both of which came after the team had clinched the division title.

Céspedes's numbers with the team in those 162 games are astounding, as he has produced 34 doubles, 44 homers, 112 RBI and has compiled a .583 slugging percentage and .941 OPS in a full season's worth of games.  Those five categories are traditionally recognized as categories in which sluggers generally excel, and Céspedes ranks favorably with the team's all-time greats in all five.

In doing research for hot starts by Mets players to see where Céspedes ranked, I found some interesting names that I did not expect to find among those franchise legends.  For every time Mike Piazza was in the top ten - he's the only player to be ranked in the top five in all five categories within his first 162 games with the team - there were a handful of "did they really have that type of start?" players.

Here are five lists, one each for doubles, home runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging percentage, that show just how good Céspedes has been in his first 162 games with the Mets and how fortunate some other players were in their first full season's worth of contests with the club.


Doubles:

Bernard Gilkey

Mike Piazza - 46
Bernard Gilkey - 45
Paul Lo Duca - 44
David Wright - 41
Mike Cameron - 40
Rusty Staub - 39
Eddie Murray - 38
Robin Ventura - 38
Todd Zeile - 38
Ike Davis - 37



Home Runs:

Kevin McReynolds

Dave Kingman - 48
Yoenis Céspedes - 44
Carlos Delgado - 39
Mike Piazza - 38
Mike Cameron - 35
Gary Carter - 34
Frank Thomas - 34
Robin Ventura - 32
Cliff Floyd - 31
Bernard Gilkey - 31
Kevin McReynolds - 31
Darryl Strawberry - 31



Runs Batted In:

John Olerud

Carlos Delgado - 126
Bernard Gilkey - 124
Robin Ventura - 120
Mike Piazza - 119
Dave Kingman - 118
Gary Carter - 116
Yoenis Céspedes - 112
Donn Clendenon - 108
John Olerud - 107
Kevin McReynolds - 102




Slugging Percentage:

Mike Cameron

Mike Piazza - .604
Yoenis Céspedes - .583
Bernard Gilkey - .544
Rico Brogna - .529
Robin Ventura - .525
Cliff Floyd - .523
Carlos Delgado - .518
Donn Clendenon - .512
Dave Kingman - .511
Mike Cameron - .510



On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage:

Rico Brogna

Mike Piazza - 1.005
Yoenis Céspedes - .941
Bernard Gilkey - .930
Robin Ventura - .902
Cliff Floyd - .890
John Olerud - .889
Rico Brogna - .880
Carlos Delgado - .870
Benny Agbayani - .867
David Wright - .865



As you can see, there are several players whose names you would expect to see in multiple categories.  Power hitters such as Céspedes, Piazza, Carlos Delgado, Dave Kingman and others can be found in at least three of the five top-ten lists.  But did you really expect to see a guy like Rico Brogna appear on as many lists as David Wright?  What about Cliff Floyd and Mike Cameron showing up three times?  Or most surprisingly, what do you think of Bernard Gilkey and Robin Ventura joining Piazza as the only three players to rank in the top ten in all five categories?

Those unexpected players (Brogna, Floyd, Cameron, Gilkey, Ventura) all had sensational starts to their careers in Flushing, but they also suffered injuries (Brogna, Floyd and Cameron come to mind) or faded quickly (Gilkey and Ventura were both one-season wonders).

Meanwhile, a number of all-time team greats were absent from a number of these top-tens.  The late, great Gary Carter made it to the Hall of Fame and began a miraculous World Series rally that fueled the Mets to a championship.  But his excellent .490 slugging percentage and .861 OPS in his first 162 games with the team were both not high enough to appear on either category's respective top-ten list.  Darryl Strawberry may have won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1983, but his only appearance on any of the above lists is a ninth-place tie in the homer department.  And Carlos Beltran may be the greatest free agent signing in Mets history, but a poor start to his career in New York kept him off every list.

It remains to be seen whether Céspedes will go down the road traveled by the great sluggers in Mets history or if the nagging injuries continue to increase and he will just be remembered for the incredible 162-game start to his Mets career, which included helping the team reach the 2015 World Series.

For now, Céspedes is one of only three Mets to have at least 30 doubles, 35 homers and 100 RBI in his first 162 games with the team, joining Carlos Delgado and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza.  Whether or not Céspedes joins Piazza in Cooperstown or even in the Mets Hall of Fame won't be known for years, but one thing's for certain.

Yoenis Céspedes has been gotten off to one of the best starts of any hitter in franchise history.  And there's nothing fluky about that.

May The 4th Be With You: The Mets Who Powered Up In New York

Just because Bernard Gilkey witnessed different Star Wars in this photo, the force was still with him as a Met.

Today is May 4, otherwise known as Star Wars Day to those who believe in the force.  (May the 4th be with you - get it?)  In honor of the special day, I decided to do some research on the Mets players who hit with more power after they came to New York.

Shea Stadium and Citi Field have never been confused with smaller, bandbox parks.  As a result, home run hitters have never been plentiful in Flushing.  But some have come to New York and thrived as home run hitters in parks that were never conducive to such displays of power.

Let's look at the ten players who unexpectedly gave the home run apple a workout after they came to New York, comparing their home run output before they called Flushing home to what they produced after they became Mets.

 

Player	AB pre-NY	HR pre-NY	AB in NY	HR in NY	AB/HR pre-NY	AB/HR in NY	Diff.
B. Gilkey	2133	52	1353	52	41.0	26.0	15.0
D. Clendenon	3651	110	861	45	33.2	19.1	14.1
K. Hernandez	4076	81	3164	80	50.3	39.6	10.7
B. Bonilla	3294	116	1779	95	28.4	18.7	9.7
H. Johnson	576	19	3968	192	30.3	20.7	9.6
M. Cameron	3528	131	801	42	26.9	19.1	7.8
R. Ventura	4542	171	1513	77	26.6	19.6	7.0
T. Agee	1230	37	2416	82	33.2	29.4	3.8
C. Floyd	3132	132	1643	81	23.7	20.3	3.4
C. Beltran	3467	146	3133	149	23.7	21.0	2.7

As you can see, only three players had a difference of 10.0 of better.  What does that mean in regular English for those of you who don't speak stats?  It means that Bernard Gilkey, Donn Clendenon and Keith Hernandez needed 10 fewer at-bats to homer as Mets as they did when they were with their old teams.

Gilkey homered every 26 at-bats as a Met, while it took him 41 at-bats on average to homer as a Cardinal.  Clendenon collected over 30 at-bats for every homer he hit before calling Shea home, but once he came to New York, he circled the bases every 19.1 at-bats.  Even Keith Hernandez, who never had a 20-homer season in the majors, found New York to his liking when it came to hitting home runs.  Hernandez homered once every 50 at-bats in St. Louis, but it took him fewer than 40 at-bats on average to jack one out in New York.

Much has been made of the power outage suffered by Jason Bay after coming to New York.  Bay averaged 30 homers per season during his first six full seasons in the majors, but managed a total of 26 homers in his three years as a Met.  But not much has been said about the players who displayed more power after reporting for duty in Flushing.

The force was with players like Bernard Gilkey, Donn Clendenon and Keith Hernandez after they were acquired by the Mets.  And once they arrived in New York, they hit the ball with more force then they ever had for their previous teams.