On the eve of his final start of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery, Joey Lucchesi and his family were involved in a car accident outside of Citi Field. All parties were okay, albeit shaken up. Lucchesi complained of minor back pain the next day but was determined to start and delivered another gem against the Marlins, pitching six innings while allowing seven hits, two earned runs, and striking out three.
Joey Lucchesi says that his Uber got into a car accident yesterday leaving the stadium. Tylor Megill saw the whole thing happen from around the block and helped him.
Despite waking up with a sore back, Lucchesi says that he wanted to make his last start of the season today. pic.twitter.com/B78aT22vZ4
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 27, 2023
The car accident almost spoiled another fantastic end to a season, much like the season-ending elbow surgery did to Lucchesi in 2021. Soon after discovering his groove towards the back half that year, he went down with the injury. He finished the months of April and May 2021 with an ERA of 6.75 and 6.46, but after realizing he was tipping pitches, he ended June with a 1.20 ERA before being shut down.
Photo by Roberto Carlo
POSITIVE CHANGES
Lucchesi’s 2023 campaign has had its own ups and downs, but unlike 2021, there have been plenty more positives to take away from. He’s been shuffled back and forth from Syracuse consistently since April, and in his nine appearances for the Mets this year, he’s pitched to an impressive 2.89 ERA in 46 2/3 innings, allowing 44 hits, 15 earned runs, 17 walks and 32 strikeouts. The left-hander went undefeated this season and cemented himself in serious contention for a role in the 2024 rotation.
While the strikeout rate was down drastically this year compared to 2021 (26.1% to 16.4%), Lucchesi induced more groundballs, 63 compared to 39. According to Fangraphs, his infield hit percentage was the lowest of his career at just 3.2%. He got more batters to pull the ball, and while the contact rate was higher, he got the outs, unafraid to pitch the ball in the zone. The walk has always plagued Lucchesi however, he’s made progress this year because he’s been able to get the first pitch over for a strike 66.2% of the time, compared to just 53.1% in 2021.
The “churve” pitcher had an almost script-like comeback year. From his first start against the Giants where he came out of the gates, shocking everyone when he pitched seven shutout innings, to a crash that almost put another pause in his career, Lucchesi should expect nothing but good things in 2024.
