Pitchers getting hits in baseball is like a trick play in the NFL. It works a very small percentage of the time but when it does, it can impact the game in a big way. You never expect the pitcher to get a hit but you appreciate it every once in a while. The Mets have been incredibly bad when it comes to their pitchers getting base hits this year. They rank 2nd worst to the Brewers with 26 total hits for their pitchers. To put that into comparison, the Dodgers lead Major League Baseball with 50 hits by their pitchers.
It’s not really about the hits. It’s about what the hits lead to. Dodgers pitchers were able to score 23 runs in 2014. Compare that with the 11 runs Mets pitchers scored and you start to understand. Call them bonus runs and the Mets aren’t getting enough of them.
This is nothing new for the Mets. In 2013 they had 34 hits, third worst in the league while the Dodgers set the pace again with 52. There’s no rhyme or reason for pitchers getting hits. Of course the Dodgers have a few veterans who handle the bat really well such as Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw who have 11 hits a piece. Dan Haren, also a Dodger has 10.
Madison Bumgarner led Major League Baseball with 17 hits and 15 RBI’s this season.
Jacob deGrom led the Mets in hits with 10, but it was the rest of the staff that got nothing out of their at bats. Jon Niese, who made 29 starts, had just 4 hits. Zack Wheeler also had 4 hits and Bartolo Colon managed 2. Dillon Gee had just a single hit in 22 starts this season.
So what does it all mean? Do the Mets pitchers need to spend more time in the cage next season? Of course not. But I don’t think you can completely discount the role of a pitcher as a hitter in the National League. This might be the type of thing that makes trading a guy like Gee or Colon easier. We saw that Matt Harvey gives you professional at bats and that’s more than we could say about Colon who seemed to take failing with the bat about as seriously as the guess your weight game at a carnival.
With the 1st and 3rd most hits by their pitchers, it’s no surprise that the Dodgers and Cardinals are both heading to the playoffs. While the Nationals don’t have a ton of hits from that position, they’ve been on cruise control for a few months. Winning baseball games takes a lot of things going the right way. I’d like to see the Mets pitchers take a little more pride in their at bats as we head into 2015.
