As a longtime Minnesota Vikings fan, I can tell you that one of the best moves the club ever made was picking up Cris Carter on waivers from the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990 for the grand total of $100. Eagles coach Buddy Ryan claimed that all Carter did “was catch touchdown passes.” It seemed like a weird thing for a coach to say. Turns out that Ryan, who never had a reputation for saying smart things, was actually protecting his player somewhat. Carter was having great difficulty at the time with drugs and alcohol and credits Ryan for helping him to get clean.
Anyway, my thoughts turned to Carter and Ryan’s famous saying about him while thinking about Tommy Pham. While there’s no chance to spin this in Ryan’s protective mode, all Pham does is hit home runs. But if you’re a professional baseball player, hitting home runs is a good thing, even if not to the degree that catching touchdown passes is for a professional receiver.
In 97 ABs, Pham has 6 HR or a homer every 16 ABs. In 2022, Pham had 554 ABs. If he had this year’s HR pace at last year’s playing time, he’d have 34 HR. Last year he hit 17. Pham’s never hit 34 homers in a season, as his career high is 23, set back in 2017 when he was 29 and put up a 149 wRC+. This year’s homer outburst has him at a 119 wRC+.
With this year’s anemic Mets offense, a 119 wRC+ is the third-best mark on the club.
We’ve reached the point in our story to talk about cognitive dissonance. As you know, cognitive dissonance is the psychological term for the mental discomfort felt when two or more ideas contradict each other. F. Scott Fitzgerald saw “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function” as the sign of a truly intelligent individual.
It’s not my place to assign intelligence here; all that’s certain to me is the mental discomfort the next sentence causes. And that’s the Mets should insert Pham into their everyday lineup.
You can check the archives and count numerous times since the day the Mets signed him where it was claimed by me that the Pham acquisition was a mistake and that he was done as a productive MLB player. Deep down, ok – not really that deep, that’s still my belief on the subject. At the same time, it’s been documented how has beens and never weres can have a six-week hot streak.
Just looking at some Mets of recent vintage, here are guys who were exceedingly close to the end of their careers who put up six good weeks for the club:
Rod Barajas put up an .892 OPS over 124 PA for the Mets in 2010.
John Buck had a .905 OPS in 102 PA in 2013
James Loney notched an .851 OPS in 148 PA in 2016
Jose Bautista posted a .944 OPS in 105 PA in 2018
Adrian Gonzalez recorded a.793 OPS in 94 PA in 2018
Austin Jackson registered an .814 OPS in 124 PA in 2018
Robinson Cano erupted for a 1.088 OPS in 99 PA in 2020
Jonathan Villar filed a .970 OPS in 111 PA in 2021
And, of course, there was Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar last year. We don’t know how much longer Canha and Escobar have left in their MLB careers. But we know that was the dead-cat bounce for the eight players listed above. Cano put up a .670 OPS in his final 83 PA in 2020 and then was busted for PEDs. As catchers, Barajas and Buck played some after their hot streaks with the Mets but performed at a Plaweckian level. Among the others, Villar had the most PT left, as he amassed 220 PA the following season. Cano recorded 104 PA. Bautista, Gonzalez, Jackson and Loney had their last MLB season the year of their six-week hot streak.
With the Mets struggling for offense, they absolutely should play Pham for 100 PAs and look to claim the benefits that these other over-the-hill stiffs gave the club in their last hurrah. The key will be recognizing it for what it is – a hot streak and not a return to former glory. When the time is up, put Pham back on the bench. Or trade him if you can.
Until then, make Pham a starter.
*****
This is a free preview of the type of article you’ll find here if you become a member of Mets360. If you’re interested in becoming a subscriber, click here to see our three membership plans.
cant help but wonder if the issue with his eye is being resolved, with that *perhaps* a contributing factor to an escalation of numbers.
on the flip side of cognitive dissonance…
how long can buck hold on to vogelbach as a regularly appearing dh? The OPS+ of 81, OPB > SLG, 35 TB, and an ISO of 0.093 is a collection of shocking bad. Right now he is only 40 PAs short of his magical 2022 season (with the Mets) but miles below. sure, he’s cheap, but running him out there game after game is the definition of insanity. As soon as Mauricio is fit after the ankle turn, its time to bring him up and DFA vogelbach.
The eye thing with Pham is not new. He was diagnosed with it in 2008.
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2019/10/16/rays-tommy-pham-shares-story-of-eye-condition-that-threatened-career/
Another piece I read said that he got new contacts every year but I can’t find it now.
As for Vogelbach, he is most certainly on thin ice. The only saving grace is that he has plenty of company. Maybe he’s the easiest one to move on from. Or maybe Mark Vientos is the one to be sent to the minors when Mauricio gets called up. And right now, Mauricio is the only option.
WRT Pham. I read an article the other day that he was desperate to get to his eye doctor and for some reason was struggling to get a ride, and, recently, Pete Alonso personally fought though hours of traffic to get him to the Dr, so this is def an “ongoing” matter where he might need regular corrective interaction
We need to move on from Vogelbach. He’s become a parody of what the team aspires to be.
I agree. The Pham signing was somewhat head scratching, primarily given the guaranteed salary commitment. I was against it. But, Mr. Pham is doing exactly what is asked of a pro, play at a level that forces them to keep you on the field. It may be a few more days, a week, etc, but the season is on the balance and the team has a poor offense. If they fall back further by the ASG, I’d deal him and if not he should it be blocking ABs from the kids at that point.
Vogie has done the opposite. It’s a cut throat business, but they are paid well.
Vision corrected permanently or not, I agree that we need to play Pham.
And, what do you know, with Alonso out of the lineup tonight, we have Alvarez (DH, batting 2nd), Baty, Pham, Vientos (1B), and Narvaez all starting!
I heartley agree to play Pham because he is so hot and the Mets need all the help they can get offensively.
With Alonso out tonight I’m glad that Alvarez is batting second and Lindor is clean up because Buck likes the lefty-righty order. Baty shouldn’t be 5th. Pham should be 5th followed by Narvaez, Marte, Baty and Vientos but Buck is loyal to Marte. Maybe Marte will reward him tonight.
Speechless after tonight’s loss. We can’t wait until the trade deadline to bolster this team or it will be too late. We are closer to last place than first.