Francisco Álvarez garners much attention for his home-run hitting with the New York Mets, and deservedly so. The former No. 1 overall prospect in baseball has showcased his power as a rookie. His 16 bombs in 214 plate appearances would be impressive for any player, let alone a 21-year-old catcher.
One other part of Álvarez’s game is drawing some notoriety around the league. While Mets fans may enjoy the epic bat flips and celebrations, other teams take notice, too.
Álvarez’s game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game brought one such moment. He carried his bat most of the way to first, flung it in the air, and then ran backward between first and second while flexing his arms and shouting in jubilation toward the Mets dugout.
Third-base coach Joey Cora took it upon himself to deliver a message to Álvarez: know your spots.
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“[Cora] just said that emotions are good to have in a game, but let’s also keep in mind that at that point there was still a lot of game to be played since it was only a home run to tie the game,” Álvarez said, per The New York Post. “If it’s one of those things where we take the lead by two runs or three runs, it’s more appropriate to do, but at that point we had to kind of stay locked into the game.”
The Mets love Álvarez’s energy. They just want to make sure that he’s utilizing it with a bit of caution. They did not seem too concerned about the showmanship, just the timing of it. As Cora reminded Álvarez, it was important to keep his focus as the team needed to still get the lead—then eventually maintain it.
Álvarez took the lesson. “I can’t do that again,” he said. “It wasn’t a home run to take the lead or anything. We have still got a baseball game to play. If it’s a tie ballgame at that point a bat flip probably isn’t necessary in that situation.”
Payback?
In the series finale, Álvarez hit another blast against the Diamondbacks and added an RBI single. He was then plunked by a 97 mph fastball from José Ruiz in the seventh inning. Álvarez stared back at Ruiz, and home plate umpire Tripp Gibson immediately got between the two and ushered Álvarez to first. Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, but nothing more occurred.
The rookie said he was looking back to see if Ruiz was staring at him, indicating that it was intentional. Ruiz was looking down. Still, according to Álvarez, “If they did it on purpose or if they did it to make me feel bad, what they should do is strike me out there.”
Álvarez might want to be careful for another reason, though. Pete Alonso spent time on the injured list after Charlie Morton of the Braves hit him in the hand with a fastball. Both Morton and Alonso insisted that it was unintentional. However, Alonso had gotten into a verbal tussle with Atlanta pitcher Bryce Elder the night before after he hit a homer.
After shouting out at Elder “throw [the pitch] again, please” following a home run, Alonso endured responses from the Atlanta dugout when they rallied to take a 6-4 lead. The next night, he left the game following the hit by pitch and missed 10 days.
The Mets don’t want their other slugger to suffer the same fate. He was fine after this plunking, but as the Mets learned last season with Starling Marte, it only takes one. Still, in a season full of disappointments for the Mets, the team will take exuberant celebrations wherever they can get them. It’s just about knowing the right moment.
