Wilson Ramos had his detractors early on this season, but in the second half, he has allowed his play to explain why the Mets signed him to a two-year $19 million contract this offseason.
The guy can flat out hit, as he has now notched hits in 23-straight games dating back to August 3. While any hitting streak of that magnitude is impressive, what makes it more so for Ramos is the fact that he is collecting hits late in games off the bench as well.
On Friday night, Ramos was benched in favor of Rene Rivera to give him a much-needed day off. Ramos couldn’t stay off his feet for too long though, as the struggling Mets lineup had come up empty in the first six innings. In the seventh inning, Rivera was due up with the bases-loaded and Mickey Callaway wasn’t taking any chances. He went to Ramos and the ‘Buffalo’ delivered.
Ramos laced a line drive base hit up the middle, tying the game at one run apiece. Callaway was wise to go to Ramos in that spot, as he has been cashing in on bases-loaded situations all season. In fact, by getting that hit, Ramos tied the franchise record for most bases-loaded hits in a season with 11.
Who held sole possession of the record previously, you ask?
It is only fitting that the record belonged solely to the greatest offensive catcher in franchise history, Hall of Famer Mike Piazza. Piazza set the record back in 2000, in a season in which he led the Mets with 38 home runs and 113 RBI.
With the bases-loaded that year, Piazza went 11-for-20, with three grand slams and 26 RBIs. Ramos only has one grand slam, but he has gone 11-for-16 with 21 RBI with the bases juiced this year.
While Ramos has been exceptional throughout August, he only has 16 RBIs across the life of this streak. Six of those RBIs came in the first game of the hitting streak, when Ramos went 4-for-5, with a double and a home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 3.
The Mets need to make sure they get more runners on base for Ramos over these next couple of weeks, so that they can truly take advantage of their red-hot catcher.
