Curtis Granderson's Resurgence Keeps the Naysayers at Bay

Curtis Granderson is rarely without a smile.  His 2015 production is making everybody smile.  (Ed Leyro/Studious Metsimus) 

Curtis Granderson did not have a good year offensively in 2014 - the first of four campaigns he was under contract with the Mets.  In his first season in Flushing, Granderson posted a .227/.326/.388 slash line.  The right fielder failed to record 50 extra-base hits and did not reach double-digit stolen bases after having seven straight seasons with 50+ XBH and six consecutive campaigns with 10+ SB through 2012, averaging 66 XBH and 18 SB per season.  (Granderson played just 61 games in 2013, notching 22 extra-base hits and eight steals.)  Granderson did lead the team in one offensive category in his first year, striking out 141 times in 564 at-bats.

But unlike the other free agent outfielder signed to a long-term deal by the Mets in the post-Shea Stadium era (Jason Bay), Granderson has turned things around quite nicely in his second season at Citi Field.  Through the team's first 133 games in 2015, Granderson has produced a .258/.351/.457 slash line, racking up 52 extra-base hits (28 doubles, one triple, 23 homers) and stealing 11 bases.  He has also scored 77 runs, has 59 RBI - a high number for a leadoff hitter - and has drawn 69 walks.

A year after he had fans wishing the team had never signed him to a four-year deal, Granderson is now leading the team in hits, walks, runs scored, home runs, RBI and stolen bases.  And that's not something that has happened much in team history.  Here are the players who have led the Mets in all six categories over a full season, with Granderson's numbers included in the mix.

Player	Year	Hits	Walks	Runs	HR	RBI	SB
Lee Mazzilli	1980	162	82	82	16	76	41
Howard Johnson	1989	164	77	104	36	101	41
Curtis Granderson	2015	128	69	77	23	59	11

In addition to Mazzilli, HoJo and Granderson, only two other players have led the team in five of the six categories in one season.  Darryl Strawberry's 1987 campaign saw him lead the Mets in walks (97), runs (108), home runs (39), RBI (104) and stolen bases (36).  However, the Straw Man finished third on team in hits behind Keith Hernandez and Kevin McReynolds.  David Wright has twice led the team in five of the six categories in a season.  The team's all-time leader in several offensive categories led the club in everything but home runs in 2009, finishing two taters behind unlikely team leader Daniel Murphy.  Three years later, Wright once again led the Mets in hits, walks, runs scored, RBI and stolen bases, but finished second to Ike Davis in home runs.

Should Granderson remain the team leader in the six offensive categories over the final month of the 2015 campaign, he would become just the third Met in franchise history to finish first in all six over a full season.  And he'd accomplish something never accomplished by Strawberry, Wright, Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones and other five-tool players that have worn a Mets uniform over the years.

Last year was widely considered to be a subpar season for Granderson, even though he hit 20 HR and drew 77 walks - the two categories coveted by Mets general manager Sandy Alderson.  The next time Granderson takes ball four in 2015, he will have his second consecutive 20 HR/70 BB campaign, which would make him just the tenth Met to have multiple seasons reaching both totals, joining Strawberry (1984-88, 1990), Johnson (1987-89, 1991), Todd Hundley (1996-97), John Olerud (1997-98), Edgardo Alfonzo (1999-2000), Robin Ventura (1999-2001), Wright (2005, 2007-08, 2012), Carlos Beltran (2006, 2008) and Carlos Delgado (2006, 2008).  You may know some of those players as among the best offensive stars in team history.

Granderson has two years left on the four-year, $60 million contract he signed prior to the 2014 season.  His first year left a lot to be desired.  But his second season has seen him lead the team's offensive charge in ways that have rarely been seen in club annals.  It remains to be seen how the rest of his tenure in Flushing will unfold.  But one thing is for sure.  Curtis Granderson is earning every penny of his contract this season.  He's regularly reaching base with hits and walks.  He's driving the ball out of the park.  He's running the bases with aplomb.  And he's hitting in the clutch, driving in his teammates from a spot in the batting order not usually known for its run-production.

The Mets owe their resurgence to a player whose renaissance couldn't have come at a better time.
 

It's Early, But The Mets Offense Has Been Offensive

Earlier this morning, the MetsBlog Twitter account delivered this yummy bit of somewhat fictional information to its tens of thousands of followers.

Although the .196 team batting average is correct, the team had actually hit two homers during the season's first five games, with David Wright and John Mayberry connecting off Braves starter Eric Stults on back-to-back pitches during Friday night's game.

But perhaps the lack of extra-base hits produced by the Mets during the first week of the new season confused the fact checkers at MetsBlog.  After all, with just four extra-base hits in five games, the Mets are dead last in the majors in that category.  Let's put the anemic offense into perspective.

New York has 32 hits this season.  That's just four more safeties than the Colorado Rockies have extra-base hits.  The N.L. West leaders have hit 21 doubles and seven homers through their first five contests.

Speaking of the Rockies, their pitchers have accounted for two of their league-leading 21 doubles, as starting pitchers Kyle Kendrick and Tyler Matzek have both ripped two-baggers during the season's first week.  Therefore, Colorado's pitchers have produced more doubles than the entire Mets team, as Lucas Duda is the only Met to stroke a double so far in 2015.

As previously mentioned, the Mets have four extra-base hits this season.  How anemic is that?  Let me count the ways.

1. The Detroit Tigers have as many triples as the Mets have extra-base hits.
2. There are 15 players in baseball with as many or more extra-base hits than the entire Mets team.
3. Nineteen of the other 29 teams have as many homers as the Mets have extra-base hits.

No extra-base production means no slugging percentage, and the Mets are dead last in the majors with a .252 slugging percentage.  New York is one of just three teams in baseball with a higher on-base percentage (.264) than slugging percentage.  The other two teams are the Miami Marlins (.285 OBP, .259 SLG) and the Minnesota Twins (.258 OBP, .256 SLG).  It should be noted that the Marlins and Twins are tied for the worst record in baseball, as both teams are 1-4.

The Mets have more bearded players than they have extra-base hits.  (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

If the Mets offense is not going to produce, then the onus rests on the starting pitchers to keep the team's opponents off the scoreboard.  But even the starting pitchers aren't going very deep during the first week of the season.  The Mets are one of three teams who have not yet had one of its starters pitch into the seventh inning this year, joining the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees.  And why are Mets starters not going deeper into games?  Some of it is ineffectiveness (see Niese, Jon and Gee, Dillon) and some of it is because of an innings limit (see Knight, Dark).  But another reason why the starters have not pitched past the sixth inning is because the team has needed to pinch-hit for them earlier in games because the offense has not been effective.

On Opening Day, Bartolo Colon was cruising, allowing one run on three hits in six innings.  But with the Mets holding on to a slim 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh, manager Terry Collins replaced Colon with pinch-hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis, even though Colon had only thrown 86 pitches to that point.  Nieuwenhuis failed to drive in Travis d'Arnaud, who had hit a triple two batters earlier, and Colon was out of the game.

Two nights later, it was Jacob deGrom's turn to be taken out of the game for a pinch-hitter.  DeGrom had thrown just 92 pitches through six innings, shutting down the Nationals after allowing a two-run homer to Ryan Zimmerman in the first inning.  But deGrom was trailing by a run when he was due to bat in the seventh.  Once again, Collins pinch-hit Nieuwenhuis for his starting pitcher and the Mets failed to score.

Both Colon and deGrom could have pitched into the seventh inning had the Mets been more productive with their bats.  But they weren't.  And because of that, the bullpen has gotten a lot of early work and two starters have gotten early showers.

Look, I know it's only five games.  I also know it's very possible the Mets might hit the stitches off the ball over their next five games and this blog post will be moot.  But it's just frustrating that the lineup looked halfway decent coming into the season and they're struggling to produce a slugging percentage that resembles a typical batting average.

Mario Mendoza, whose name is so synonymous with a low batting average that a .200 hitter is said to be at the Mendoza Line - never mind that Mendoza actually had a .215 lifetime batting average - would look at the 2015 Mets and shake his head in disgust.  That's what happens when an entire team can only muster a .196 batting average.  And it's not just the lack of hits that would upset Mendoza.  It's the lack of long hits.  The Mets' .252 slugging percentage is also lower than Mendoza's .262 career mark.

All you have to know about the early season offensive production of the 2015 Mets is this.  In last night's game, the Atlanta Braves produced three doubles and one triple in the sixth inning.  The Braves' extra-base hit production in that one inning matched the total number of extra-base hits produced by the Mets in their first five games combined.

The offense is doing just enough to offend and not enough to contend.  Let's hope "it's still early" doesn't turn into "it's getting late" for the team's lumber to awaken from its slumber.

This is what most Mets hitters have looked like in 2015.  (Adam Hunger/USA TODAY)

The Real Reason Why The Mets Should Bring Back Scott Hairston

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.

The numbers don't lie.  No player in Mets history with at least 500 at-bats has given the team a better chance at collecting an extra-base hit than Scott Hairston.

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.

Ike Davis Continues To Rack Up Extra-Base Hits

On Wednesday, R.A. Dickey cruised to his 18th victory of the season, defeating the Cardinals, 6-2.  Dickey wasn't cruising the entire time, taking a precarious 2-1 lead into the middle innings.  But with one swing of Ike Davis' bat, a one-run lead turned into a four-run cushion, which was more than enough for Dickey and the bullpen.

Davis' three-run blast was his 26th homer of the year.  He also has 22 doubles to give him 48 extra-base hits on the season.  The stunning thing about Davis' extra-base hit total is that he still has not reached 100 total hits on the season.

An incredible 48.5% of Davis' 99 hits have gone for extra bases this season, which is one of the main reasons why he has 77 RBI despite his low .224 batting average.  At his current pace, Davis would finish the year with 57 extra-base hits, which would make him the 25th Met with that many extra-base hits in a single season.  However, very few of those players have had as high an extra-base hit percentage as Davis.  Here are the ten highest extra-base hit percentages in Mets history (min. 57 XBH).

1. Carlos Beltran (2006): 140 hits, 80 XBH (57.1%)
2. Mike Cameron (2004): 114 hits, 61 XBH (53.5%)
3. Todd Hundley (1996): 140 hits, 74 XBH (52.9%)
4. Howard Johnson (1991): 146 hits, 76 XBH (52.1%)
5. Dave Kingman (1975): 116 hits, 59 XBH (50.9%) 
6. Carlos Delgado (2006): 139 hits, 70 XBH (50.4%)
7. Darryl Strawberry (1987): 151 hits, 76 XBH (50.3%)
8. Howard Johnson (1989): 164 hits, 80 XBH (48.8%)
9. Darryl Strawberry (1986): 123 hits, 59 XBH (48.0%)
10. Darryl Strawberry (1988): 146 hits, 69 XBH (47.3%)

Note: In 1989, Darryl Strawberry collected 107 hits, of which 56 went for extra bases.  A total of 52.3% of his hits were of the extra-base variety.  Also, Mike Piazza's best extra-base hit percentage was 43.3%, which he accomplished in 2002 (134 hits, 58 XBH).


Should Ike Davis continue his extra-base hit pace, he would enter the top ten with his 48.5% XBH rate, just three-tenths of one percent behind Howard Johnson for eighth place.  But Davis also has a chance to post only the eighth season in franchise history in which at least half of a player's hits went for extra bases (min. 57 XBH), especially considering what he has done at the plate over the past three months.

Since June 6, Davis has collected 71 base hits.  But only 33 of them have been singles.  A total of 53.6% of all his hits since June 6 have gone for extra bases (17 doubles, 21 HR).

Yes, Ike Davis is still sporting a Kingman-esque batting average.  But like the Sky King, Davis is making the most of his safeties, cranking out extra-base hit after extra-base hit.  If he can keep this up, he's going to join some exclusive company at the end of the season.  No wonder Mets fans like Ike.