Did This Lineup Change Revive Mets' Season?

One gusty decision by New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may have saved his team's season.

Grant Young | Oct 16, 2024

Sep 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo (9) celebrates with third base Mark Vientos (27) and shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) after hitting a three run home run during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

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The New York Mets will be facing the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS on Wednesday evening.

The Mets' starting lineup will almost certainly feature the same first four players: Francisco Lindor hitting leadoff, Mark Vientos in the two-hole, Brandon Nimmo batting third, and slugger Pete Alonso in the cleanup spot.

New York's tough start to the 2024 regular season now feels so long ago that many fans may forget this is not always how the Mets' starting lineup looked. On May 18, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (whose team was 20-24 at that point) decided to put Lindor in the leadoff spot for the first time all year.

And an October 15 article from MLB.com's Christina De Nicola revealed why the outcome of Mendoza's decision may have saved his team's season.

"With Lindor serving as the leadoff man, the Mets have gone 70-48 (including the postseason) while averaging 4.97 runs per game. They are 19-24 with 4.19 runs per game otherwise," De Nicola wrote.

"Among 29 players with at least 50 games in the leadoff spot for the whole game, Lindor ranks as follows: AVG: .298 (sixth), OBP: .374 (sixth), SLG: .548 (fourth), OPS: .922 (fourth), Home runs: 28 (fourth).

De Nicola also noted how this lineup change was a risk because Brandon Nimmo, who had been hitting leadoff, "is not only a prototypical leadoff hitter but also one of the best in the Majors. Among 28 players with at least 1,000 plate appearances in that role, Nimmo ranked 10th in OPS (.825) from 2018-24. His 25 triples over that span were the most of any leadoff batter. "

This gutsy lineup change is just another example of why making Mendoza the Mets' manager was a genius move by the front office.

Perhaps Lindor will start his team's NLCS game on Wednesday with some offensive fireworks.

Published Oct 16, 2024

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.