This Hitting Adjustment Could Make or Break the Mets' Season

The Mets must improve at this crucial hitting component if they want to make the playoffs.

August 3, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; New York Mets designated hitter J.D. Martinez (28) hits a grand slam home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets are hoping this tweak will help turn their offensive woes around.

An August 16 article from The Athletic's Will Sammon noted one hitting adjustment the Mets must make if they're to expect success for the rest of the season.

They need to improve at hitting breaking balls.

"Since the All-Star break, no team has seen more breaking balls than the Mets," Sammon wrote. "Opposing pitchers have thrown the Mets breaking balls 37.1 percent of the time in the second half, which is the most in baseball over that span... In the first half, pitchers threw breaking balls to the Mets 32.5 percent of the time."

While it's always important for pitchers to include a healthy mix of different pitches against opponents, the Mets' lineup created a reputation for punishing fastballs in the first half of 2024. This meant more breaking balls would come their way after the All-Star break.

"In June, when the club performed at its best, the Mets crushed fastballs — they had the fourth-best batting run value against them," the article wrote. "During June, the Mets saw fastballs 56.6 percent of the time. Since the All-Star break, only the Philadelphia Phillies (50.2 percent) have seen fewer fastballs than the Mets (51.9 percent)."

Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez brought his squad's struggles against breaking balls to light before their Friday win over the Miami Marlins.

"Chavez wouldn’t go into detail publicly about how the Mets specifically planned to combat the issue after their meeting, but said that seeing more spin in practice could help," Sammon added.

Mets infielder Mark Vientos was struggling against breaking balls earlier this season. To address this, he switched from receiving only fastballs during batting practice to a 50/50 mix of fastballs and breaking balls. He has performed better against breaking balls ever since.

If repetition is indeed the remedy, perhaps all Mets hitters will be fed breaking balls during batting practice for the rest of the 2024 campaign.