Much has been made at this site about how Citi Field has suppressed offense thru the first couple of months. That had the dual effect of making the pitchers look better than they were, while making the hitters look worse than they were. Those who ignored that reality made foolish proclamations about how what was wrong with the team was the offense and the solution was to trade pitchers for hitters. I feel dumber just typing that sentence.
In one of the first articles on the topic of Citi Field, a commenter mentioned that it was too early to make any conclusions about how the park was playing. But that missed the point. The idea at the time wasn’t that we should look at Citi Field as forever an extreme pitcher’s park moving forward. Rather, that what we were experiencing at that moment was both important and noteworthy, regardless if it continued for the remainder of the year, much less beyond that.
And, indeed, it seems like the tides have shifted.
At first, the pitchers started giving up more runs at home. Now, the offense is cleaning up at Citi Field. We can speculate the reasons why. But the important thing is that we no longer have to worry about the team hitting like the expansion-era Mets when they were playing at home. And while the pitchers may no longer be getting that early-season boost, the tradeoff for more offense has been an overall positive. Thru the end of May, the Mets were 13-19 at home. Here in June, the team is 7-3 in Citi Field, ignoring the “home” game in London.
In the 10 games played at Citi Field this month, the offense has scored 63 runs while the pitchers have allowed 42. All of us should sign up for that in a heartbeat. MLB as a whole is averaging 4.5 runs per game here in June. The pitchers in Citi Field are slightly better than that this month, while the hitters have blown past that mark.
The team is still hitting on the road, too. In 11 games this month away from Citi Field, the Mets have scored 72 runs. When you’re pounding the ball both home and away, good things happen. The Mets lead the league in OPS (.877), wOBA (.378) and wRC+ (151) in June. The pitching this month has been more of a mixed bag. The team is 10th in ERA (3.90), 14th in FIP (4.04) and 22nd in fWAR (1.2) – and it’s the relievers doing the heavy lifting. The starters have a 4.38 ERA, a 4.45 FIP and a 0.6 fWAR. Furthermore, their 111 IP ties for the 22nd-most innings in the league.
Yet the outlook for the pitchers may not be as bleak as the numbers above suggest. Francisco Alvarez was activated from the IL and played his first game on 6/11. And from that point, the Mets have a 3.27 ERA, a 3.63 FIP and a 1.4 fWAR. Those numbers rank 4th, 6th and 14th, respectively, in the majors.
Since offense is fun, let’s get back to the hitters. Here’s how the six hitters on the team with the most PA have done in June:
Pete Alonso – 97 PA, 147 wRC+
J.D. Martinez – 96 PA, 169 wRC+
Fracisco Lindor – 96 PA, 156 wRC+
Brandon Nimmo – 91 PA, 173 wRC+
Mark Vientos – 81 PA, 155 wRC+
Harrison Bader – 66 PA 147 wRC+
Alvarez has a 248 wRC+ in 48 PA
Many years ago, my college basketball team had a great recruiting month in June. Ever since, whenever something good happens, the fans refer to it with some form of the word June, such as:
It’s June in November!
I’m Juning really hard with the baseball team
June came early with both the men’s and women’s team making the Final Four
And as a Mets fan – with their typical play in June – it’s been hard for me to embrace that expression for good times. But here in 2024, my baseball team has finally gotten the memo. After a dismal month of May, the Mets are 15-6 in June, with three games still to play. Those three are against an Astros squad that is 15-7 this month.
Our first edition of the Power Rankings yesterday had the Astros ranked 12th and the Mets 14th. My picks had the Mets at 12, one spot ahead of their expansion brethren. This three-game series could determine who the hottest team this month is. So, let’s keep the June flowing! And perhaps the best way to do that is to make sure Alvarez catches Jose Quintana later tonight and gets a day off with Tylor Megill going Saturday.
For sure, Citifield isn’t to blame anymore. Maybe it’s a “winds” thing, but balls were dying out there. That’s not our imagination. Lastly, another difference between this June and other Junes, usually the Mets have their California trip in June. This year it came in May and as we know, May sucked.
Good point about the timing of the early West Coast trip.
FWIW – the Mets early WC trip last year was in April, which was the end of the Mets’ good start. They were 7-3 in their California trip last April. But they lost the last two games and the rest of the year went in the toilet after that…
What I find amazing is if the Mets had played .500 ball in May instead of going nine and 19, the Braves might’ve been trailing us for the wildcard spot and the Phillies who are now having their share of injuries, would not have been so far out of sight in the division. With the exception of ballparks that are hard to hit home runs in, all of the other dimensions, with the exception of space in the foul ground areas, are the same. Perhaps the Mets have just put on their big boy pants and realized that they are not as bad as they think they are. Or perhaps Vientos and Alvarez have spurred the old guys to get their hitting shoes on. That so many hitters are all clicking at the same time is very exciting to watch. Even Nimmo and McNeil who did not record hits in the Yankee finale contributed to the Mets scoring nonetheless.
Let’s hope the home magic continues for three more games.
Good point, but… its a long way from 9-19 to .500. And this simply wasn’t the same roaster/lineup in May that is has been in June. That lineup was weaker. If the Mets had simply been 2 to 3 games better, they’d be a game (or so) behind the Braves, and solidly in the WC position.
Think if the Mets had not blown six ninth inning leads in May, when no one else lost more than two. Give the Mets four more wins and look again. I understand that we can play the “if” game all day, but this is just asking that they are the same as the rest of the league.