Marc Carig of Newsday illustrated the impact that the new dimensions of Citi Field would of had on Curtis Granderson last season.
According to Sandy Alderson, the Mets would have hit 17 more home runs with these new dimensions, and Granderson would have accounted for nine of those homers. This would have given the veteran outfielder a total of 29 home runs on the season.
Granderson’s nine additional home runs would have given him twelve more RBIs, raising his total on the season to 78. His batting line would have gone from .227/.326/.388 to .236/.333/.436. Four of the nine at-bats resulted in three doubles and a triple, therefore, the net impact would have left Granderson with five additional hits.
His total number of runs scored would have gone up by seven. In two extra base hit situations, Curtis was driven home after getting on, so I had to account for the fact that he made it all the way around the diamond as he would have in a home run situation. With the seven additional trips across home plate, Granderson would have scored a total of 80 runs on the season.
What’s interesting is that these additional home runs would have had absolutely no impact on the Mets overall record. The team won eight of those nine games without the need for Granderson’s homers. In the lone loss, which was to the Washington Nationals on September 14, Granderson hit a fly out that would have been a solo shot. The caveat is that the Mets lost 3-0, so it would not have shifted the result to a win.
How would have these new dimensions impacted the Mets as far as the standings? Well, in the case of Granderson, bringing in the fences would have boosted his individual statistics, however, it wouldn’t have translated to any additional wins for the team.
New hitting coach Kevin Long believes Granderson will produce better in 2015 regardless, and believes the Mets right fielder was putting too much pressure on himself.
“The first time you come into an organization and you signed a big contract, I think it’s a little more difficult than it might seem,” said Long. “That probably played into it.”
Long also said he has spotted several minor adjustments that will help Granderson, such as reducing excess hand movement in his swing and the two will work together this offseason to fix his swing. David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud will also be joining Long to work. not just on their mechanics but their psychological approach.
“We’re going to have to change the culture a little bit,” Long said. “But, I think, the main thing is to believe that a line-drive swing and a good line-drive swing can work in any ballpark against any pitcher in any conditions. So we’ll start there and see how that goes.”
