It’s not always easy to find things to write about this time of year other than hot stove talk and trade/free agent rumors. So I decided to look at some of the final stats from 2009. You know, those dismal numbers that contributed to one of the worst seasons the Mets have had in years. And while we all know too well about the power outage that had Daniel Murphy lead the team with 12 home runs, it’s worth noting that David Wright led the Mets in runs batted in for 2009. He had 72 of them.
That’s a good number if we’re talking about the 1975 Mets. But this is 2009, and 100-plus RBI seasons are much more common now. In 2008, Wright himself drove in 124 runs, while Carlos Delgado had 115 and Carlos Beltran 112. In 2007, Beltran had 112 and Wright 107. 2006? Wright 116, Beltran 116, Delgado 114. All of that makes 2009 just look ridiculous, and here is what I’m talking about. Behind Wright’s 72 RBI, you have Daniel Murphy with 63 and Fernando Tatis with 48. Carlos Beltran also drove in 48 in just 81 games, so you could argue that he would have hit the century mark. Well even if he did, Wright would have likely been second with his 72. And either way, the numbers are what they are, and they are pathetic. Here, we were all so worried about the Mets’ bullpen going into 2009, but who would have predicted such a horrid run production decline, injuries or not.
For the record, five teams drove in fewer runs than the Mets, but only the Pirates’ Andy LaRoche (64 RBI) had less driven in than Wright as a team leader. But that’s the Pirates, a team that hasn’t been competitive in almost 20 years. Wright leading the team with 72 is like Kobe Bryant leading the Lakers with a 15-point scoring average. It’s just baffling. You can argue the Citi Field dimensions holding in home runs, but you can’t make a good argument for the RBI other than the Mets just stunk it up in 2009.
Yeah, I know, we need to get healthy. That was a huge part of the production issue. But Wright did play in 144 games, and if Carlos Delgado is re-signed, he’s still going to be almost 40. We need some more productive bats in this lineup—to compete with the Phillies and everyone else.
