Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to the midway point Mets fans! Over the course of the All-Star break, we’ll be going back through the Mets roster, coaching staff, and front office and grading them at where things stand.
First up will be the Mets coaching staff.
Buck Showalter
There’s no stat to grade a manager with adequately. Win-loss can be iffy since the manager doesn’t actually hit the field but it feels pretty safe to say in his first half season as the Mets manager Buck Showalter gets an A+.
The Mets are off to their best start since 2006 with a 58-35 record and a 2.5-game lead in the National League East. Showalter has led a culture change within the clubhouse and it’s visible between the painted white lines. The Mets appear to be a team that’s having fun and enjoying playing with one another.
A lot was made of Showalter being too old for a modern game and clubhouse after spending a few years away from the dugout. His doubters have been proven wrong. Now we’ll all watch as he handles a tight divisional race down the stretch.
Grade: A+
Eric Chavez
New York poached Eric Chavez from the Yankees to be their hitting coach and the first-half returns have been splendid. The Mets rank seventh in batting average (.252) and sixth in on-base percentage (.324). New York is no longer selling out for power at the plate and ranks 14th in slugging (.398) yet their offense ranks as the sixth-best in baseball with a 110 wRC+.
The Mets pester opposing pitchers. They drive up pitch counts and strike out the fourth-least (20.2%) in baseball. No longer do Mets batters claim to feel overwhelmed by data and a younger mind in Chavez seems to relate to active players better than Chili Davis was during his 2021 stint.
The Mets have scored the fourth-most runs in baseball (435). Safe to say, Chavez isn’t on the hot seat.
Grade: A+
Jeremy Hefner
Jeremy Hefner was the lone coach retained from the disastrous 2021 season. The contributions he’s been able to get out of an oft-injured starting pitching staff and a scrawny Mets bullpen have been nothing short of impressive.
The Mets pitchers rank eighth in combined fWAR this season with 10.8. No team strikes out as many hitters per nine innings as New York (9.67 K/9), and their team ERA is seventh-best at 3.63.
Hefner’s process is clearly trusted by those who have been around the team for several years. The Mets are getting the most out of their starters with guys who weren’t originally in the rotation like David Peterson and Trevor Williams continuing to impress. Of course it helps with Max Scherzer and vets like Chris Bassitt and Carlos Carrasco, but you can’t be a top team in baseball without a top pitching staff and Hefner has managed his group well.
Grade: A
Miscellaneous Coaches
The rest of the Mets coaches include bench coach Glenn Sherlock, first base coach Wayne Kirby, third base coach Joey Cora, and bullpen coach Craig Bjornson.
There’s not too much to say about Sherlock, Kirby, or Bjornson except that Kirby is always smiling over at first base. The main focus is on the Mets addition of Cora this season.
Last year Gary DiSarcinia was a mess at third base. He failed to understand when to and when not to send runners. The Mets this season have been slightly more aggressive on the basepaths and Cora’s knowledge of his runners abilities have led to the Mets stealing runs.
Most notably, the Mets are making far fewer outs at home plate. This season they have made three outs at home plate. Last season they made 11 outs.
The extra-bases taken percentage is similar, 39% in 2022 and 37% in 2021. But, Cora is sending runners home more often and with more success. For example, when a runner is on second a single is hit, the runner has scored in 59% of situations this season. Last season it was 46%.
Grade: A
