For much of the season, Mets infielder Jeff McNeil sat slouched at his locker after games, scrolling through his phone, probably wondering where things went wrong for him. He rarely smiled and barely spoke a word, wallowing in the misery that his season had become.
Then, as if out of nowhere, batted balls that usually landed in an opponent’s glove began to fall for hits. Deep fly balls traveled slightly farther, over the fence rather than for an out, and his frown slowly transformed into a grin and then a smile.
The transformation began to surface at the end of June. Entering the Mets’ 77th game of the season, McNeil was batting .212/.278/.295 with 14 extra-base hits (three home runs) and 15 RBIs.
This resulted in McNeil seeing fewer at-bats as Jose Iglesias pumped the team with energy — and No. 1 hits like “OMG” — around the diamond. Thus he along with hitting coach Jeremy Barnes began to make adjustments at the plate, and over the next seven games, he started to see things play in his favor more, going 7-for-29 (.241 batting average) with a home run. But that wasn’t enough.
McNeil hit a tipping point on July 7 against the Pirates with Paul Skenes on the mound. That’s when McNeil began taking a different approach at the plate.
“I just kinda went up there looking for heaters and just try to hit the ball hard,” McNeil said recently. “I wasn’t having success the other way, so you gotta keep trying things.”
In 27 games since then, McNeil is slashing .321/.367/.654 with 15 extra-base hits (six home runs) and 18 RBIs. It’s boosted his season average by 27 points to .239 and his OPS up more than 100 points, from .572 to .677.
McNeil’s transformation puts him, and the Mets, in a better position than they were earlier in the season. Now, the Mets are looking for more ways to incorporate McNeil into games, slotting him in at second base as well as the corner outfield positions.
It also allows them to keep him as a part of their future — he has two years at a total of $31.5 million left, plus a team option — or shop him around in the offseason for a trade. Potential suitors will be more interested now that the 2022 batting champion is producing.
For McNeil, he gets the chance to continue playing for a contender and to be a contributor in a team filled with them. Most importantly, it keeps him happy.
“We like happy Jeff,” shortstop Francisco Lindor recently said.
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